KEY POINTS:
Verdict: * * *
As Spiralling bursts to life, full of clanking drums, squelching synthesisers and David Bowie-like piano chords, you may find yourself checking the stereo. You did put in Keane's new album, right? As the British band embark on their third album, frontman Tom Chaplin has been telling listeners to expect something new and different from the piano rock trio.
The five-minute second track, The Lovers are Losing, continues the dance rock vein, before Chaplin's falsetto on Better Than This leaves you completely befuddled. These guys are renowned for theatrical melancholy and suddenly channelling Scissor Sisters disco rock.
It's different, ambitious and, to an extent, commendable. But the whole experience is a bit surreal and nonsensical.
Keane have always been a popular (if somewhat bland) band, sharing a similar fan base to Coldplay and Snow Patrol. Why risk alienating it for the sake of shaking things up? But as the record progresses, you realise they haven't shaken so much as stirred the top layer, and by the fifth song - title track Perfect Symmetry - Keane return to their signature slushy pianos and soaring, epic vocals.
The rest of the album plays out in a similar fashion before the dull closer Love is the End.
By trying to cover their bases, and not commit to the new sound, they fail to inspire new fans and will probably annoy those who enjoyed wallowing in their usual weepy fare.
Joanna Hunkin
