I've got to start off by admitting that I hate Coldplay. I think that the peak of Chris Martin’s creative ability came when he named his first child Apple. As such, any band that has tried to forge a career out of emulating Coldplay should have been taken out back and shot ages ago. On Perfect Symmetry, though, Keane attempt to move away from their piano-driven wimp-rock into the future by sounding like 1983. The entire album gave me that same “what the hell” feeling I got from My Morning Jacket’s Evil Urges this summer. While I can’t say I particularly enjoyed how pathetic both Hopes and Fears and Under the Iron Sea were, I don’t understand why Keane felt the need to seemingly alienate the fanbase of 50-somethings and entitled British schoolchildren they had amassed. The first single off the album, “The Lovers Are Losing,” sounds like some sort of electroclash Muse failure. This makes sense, as this album seems to be Keane’s acknowledgement that they can’t ever reach the genius of Radiohead or the radio-friendly unit-shifting ability of Coldplay, and so will now take on lesser British successes like Editors or Muse. The album title, the way that Tim Rice-Oxley sings and about half the songs’ licks sound like B-sides from Muse's Origin of Symmetry. Later tracks, such as “Playing Along” and “Love Is The End” aren’t quite as offensive to the ears, and I may even listen to them again… if I ever lose all other music that I own, get stranded on a desert island and go through the most melodramatic breakup possible. Bam.

More Like This