Review from Record Overplayed - October
2003
KEANE - This is the Last Time (Fierce Panda)
Once in a blue moon you'll hear a song so
exquisite that it simply stops you in your
tracks and takes your breath away. Now and
again a piece of music will hit you in precisely
the right place and induce goosebumps, tears
or a combination of the two. Every once in
a while you discover a song which makes you
realise that, having already awarded the October
honour to the wonderful Easyworld, having
only one 'Single of the Month' accolade to
hand out just isn't enough...
This is the Last Time fits comfortably into
all of the above categories and many more
besides; it's that special and, thus, it would
be foolish to believe it possible to do its
beauty any sort of justice using words alone.
Those suggesting Keane's lack of guitars is
nothing more than a gimmick couldn't be further
from the truth; the piano and drums perfectly
connote the song's raw emotion and, together
with its impassioned, soaring vocals, make
for a track which is nothing less than spellbinding
and able to raise the hairs on the back of
your neck.
Probably the most gorgeous single of 2003,
and hopefully far from the last time we'll
hear from Keane. Treasure it.
Review from Record
Overplayed, by Dawn
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Picadilly Records - October 2003
Stand aside, make way; no get down on your
knees for an absolute bona fide classic single.
Sweeping, beautifully sung verses soar into
a towering chorus that puts this straight
in with a bullet: one of the best pop songs
you're going to hear this year. Only Puressence
at their most dramatic, most melodic, could
match this single. And like Puressence the
voice is gorgeous-don't know what he looks
like but you want to give him a big hug! -
the words are totally believable, but my words
here are useless because this is simply a
brilliant, brilliant pop song. It speaks for
itself. Straight from the heart!
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Review from The Fly - October 2003
Review of 'This Is The Last Time': When a
band's first two singles are of such bed-wettingly
good songwriting talent that the listener
is compelled to start crying, you know there's
something good occurring. Once again it's
crooning with a euphorically sad twist. And
destined to take over the world. Please?
Ian Abrahams - The Fly
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NME review - 04.09.03
Review of Camden Barfly gig (Camden):
On first impressions, you wouldn't understand
why tonight the Barfly is so busy - it's like
the Black Hole of Calcutta on a bad day. Keane
look, it must be said, like three geography
teachers. Singer Tom Chaplin is all rosy cheeks
and tatty suit, while drummer Richard Hughes
and pianist - yes, pianist - Tim Rice-Oxley
have so little stage presence they make Iain
Duncan Smith look like Julian Casablancas.
All is revealed once Keane start to play.
First off, Chaplin has a truly exceptional
voice - as pure and swooping as Thom Yorke
on an oxygen binge. Of the seven songs Keane
perform, at least three are potential Top
Ten hits. 'Everybody's Changing' sounds like
Travis on ecstasy. 'She Has No Time' boasts
a melody you'd need a crowbar to shift. 'Bend
and Break', apparently pencilled in as their
first major label single, squires Coldplay
to the disco to world-beating effect.
Suddenly it's blatantly obvious why Keane
have united Steve Lamacq, Dido (who, a vicious
rumour has it, is here tonight) and every
record company in London in admiration. And
if they can get an audience that broad at
this stage, Keane's future looks bright indeed.
Alex Needham
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Review from Tripwire.com - 27.06.03
Live - Keane Blow Minds At Water Rats
In London
Thursday evening found me taking my second
ever trip to London's Water Rats venue,
after having caught a brilliant Haven show
there in November of 2001. Up and comers
Keane had quite a lot to live up to then.
Unsurprisingly, they matched and then surpassed
my expectations of them. The only songs
I knew from this East Sussex trio were from
their amazing Fierce Panda debut EP Everybody's
Changing, but eight amazing songs were
aired out last evening.
Frontman Tom Chaplin bears quite a facial
resemblance to Puressence frontman James
Mudriczki and has a voice equally stunning.
Chaplin's golden throated tones floated
effortlessly over the keyboard tinkling
of Tim Rice-Oxley and the shuffly percussion
of Richard Hughes. No guitars to be found
anywhere and the bass was on DAT, but neither
of those were detriments; the songs were
that excellent on their own. And these weren't
all down tempo ballads, as most of their
soaring pop gems definitely had heads bobbing,
especially on the EPs title track. As they
announced what I believed to be their last
song, I was slightly heartbroken to not
hear my co-favorite song of 2003, Bedshaped.
However, they had not said it was their
last song, they had just introduced This
Is The Last Time, and the final song
of the night was my beloved Bedshaped.
To quote my new mate Tim Rowkins, who worked
on the last album by the aforementioned
Puressence, "How long do you think
until Keane are all over Radio 2 and everyone's
mum has a copy...? If there is any justice
in this world, it'll be by year's end."
Jump on the Keane bandwagon before it rolls
right over you. You'll be able to say you
remember them when.
- Reported by Jeremy P. Goldstein
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Article from The FLY - June 2003
It's easy to get a bit carried away. Anything
capable of igniting passion within an individual
is welcomed here. Well, anything musical,
anyway. The rush of euphoria, the moment
of ecstatic delight that makes life on this
warped planet seem reasonable, is a moment
to cherish and savour.
Flicking through another month's bands,
all vying for a space, a song wafted out
of the speakers and a room full of excitable
people just... stopped, ended that moment's
chore, and turned towards the sound. A brief
second passed, followed by the scrum to
get to the sleeve/press release/bar.
Hello boys. We simply must talk about Bedshaped.
"Oh you like that one do you?"
Like? My God man. It's, its...
"...quite old now. Thanks anyway."
Tom is the syrupy, cathedral-esque vocalist
of Hastings three-piece Keane, who are a
cocktail of Coldplay, Puressence and A-ha
all rolled into one bite-sized chunk. Everybody
is going to like this. Yep, it's bedwetters'
music, but who cares when youre pissing
champagne?!
"A lot of the inspiration comes from the
fact that we've entrenched our musical tastes
- our songs have a kind of crafted quality
to them. I don't think that will alienate
anyone - one of the advantages we have is
that our melodies are so strong. That took
a long time to master."
They are almost diary-like in their presentation.
Such vulnerable prose in song and word is
scary for a band so young and with hardly
any past. One can sense the shyness as the
songs build. It's a trait they carry live.
It's so endearing and powerful.
"Well, we've had happy lives. I didn't see
the point of lying about any of it. This
is who we are. Bullshit is for the bullshitters!"
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NME review - 31.05.03
Review of Cardiff Barfly gig, May 15th:
...If Keane look incongruous in this spit-and-sawdust
venue, they sound triply so: as Chaplin's
voice arcs high and clear over elegiac piano,
debut single 'Everybody's Changing' sounds
like the Pet Shop Boys stripped of their
irritating irony, painting out fraught emotions
in breathtakingly broad strokes. There's
no cluttersome guitars here, no half-baked
slogans - just tremulous voice, piano-synth
and drums - and it's this clarity that's
Keane's greatest strength.
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Sunday Times profile - 18.05.03
Their debut single, Everybody's Changing,
has found a home at the indie label Fierce
Panda (whose roster includes first releases
from Coldplay, Idlewild and Supergrass).
So beautiful and perfectly formed is the
song, the band seem destined for greatness...
Chaplin's choirboy-like voice is a beguiling
blend of Harry Nilsson, Eric Carmen, Chris
Martin and Fran Healy. Appropriately the
song touches base with both Everybody's
Talkin' and Everybody Wants to Rule
the World. The ghostly piano motif;
the hi-hat's entry in the chorus; the juxtaposition
of forlorn sentiments with ascending major
chords; the finale's inevitable but deadly
suspension in the bass guitar: all demand
submission from the listener. Yes, it's
manipulative (and not for the recently heartbroken).
But it's also three-and-a-half minutes of
pure pop loveliness.
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BBC 6music live session - 03.04.03
Exclusive live tracks and interviews from
Roundhouse Studios in London, broadcast
live on Steve Lamacq's show. www.bbc.co.uk/6music/artists/keane
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Xfm live session - 13.05.03
Keane record live session for Xfm
Exclusive broadcast of a specially recorded
session for Xfm. Broadcast on Claire Sturgess’
show on Tuesday 13th May, between 21:00-23:00.
For more information see www.xfm.com
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NEW SINGLE RELEASE - 12.05.03
Keane release ‘Everybody’s Changing’
Buy ‘Everybody's Changing’
from Fierce Panda now.
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Review from: www.drownedinsound.com
- 10.05.03
Everybody’s Changing
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Review from: NME
- 03.05.03
"Everybody's Changing is an indisputably
mighty pop song that reminds us of the first
time we heard Coldplay's 'Shiver' or Travis'
'Writing to Reach You'. Except Keane sound
nothing like either of them, and are closer
to 'Kid A'-era Radiohead covering A-ha.
Deeply unzeitgeist, but one to watch.."
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Review from: www.drownedinsound.com
- 22.04.03
Dublin Castle, Camden - live review
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Review from: www.playlouder.com
- 22.04.03
Dublin Castle, Camden - live review
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Review from: Steve
Lamacq (Radio 1) - 14.04.03
"Also on the way is a gorgeous first
release from Keane"
who I wrote about here a couple of months
ago after seeing the band perform at London's
Kentish Town Bull & Gate . If you missed
the review, then they're no ordinary trio.
It's a drummer, keyboard player and a singer
who has an enormous, likeable voice.
Moulded together they deliver a sound somewhere
between a scuffed Coldplay and a frankly
bewildered Beautiful South. Debut single
'Everybody's Changing' is due next month.
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Review from: www.dotmusic.com
- Marquee gig
"If you dream of bands that have thick,
creamy vocals as their high point - Keane
are here to make those dreams come true.
Having put out two records on their own
Zoomorphic label, they are about to release
a new single on the consistently fab Fierce
Panda label. This band is all about the
vocals - and what vocals they are. Clear,
crisp and flowing - it's like the biggest,
bluest sky opened up and decided to sing.
The music is keyboard-driven spun sugar
sparkles and the lyrics are the stuff of
slow dances at the disco."
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Review from: www.popjustice.co.uk
- 13.04.03
GOOD INDIE ALERT!
Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the first
ever Popjustice Flying Pig. The pig will
be joining the Popjustice High Horse and
the Pop Klaxon, so make him feel at home.
We've got an absolutely corker for the first
ever Flying Pig, but we're going to keep
this brief, because it's almost too embarrassing
to type. Thing is, a forthcoming release
on the Fierce Panda label is one of the
five best singles we've heard this year.
It sounds like Thom Yorke guesting on a
Pet Shop Boys record. It's out in May. It's
by a band called Keane. And it's called
'Everybody's Changing'. It's really, really
beautiful.
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