To the relief of many fans around the country, Keane has finally landed, and with an album that is probably familiar to many well before its official release. Keane has been touring and playing for many months, and from my crowd observations not only are the songs known but can be recited word-for-word.

A few months ago I attended a major Keane gig in Liverpool that convinced me that the band is a cut above the average without being ‘special’ – no yet anyway. It’s early days for the band and if Coldplay can shift up a gear with each album, I’m sure Keane can. That said, HOPE AND FEARS is a good debut album full of strong melodies, decent lyrics and fine vocal performances from Tom Chaplin. Keane songs have a way of sticking in one’s head and especially the band’s previous singles Somewhere Only We Know, This Is The Last Time and Everybody’s Changing (all included on the album). And perhaps one of the reasons for this is there’s a sameness about them; it’s almost like the ad man’s rule, ‘say it three times and people will believe it.’ The songs can be best described as ‘power pop’ with heavy helpings of emotion and sincerity served up on an epic scale.

My personal highlight is the song written for Chaplin by keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley at a time of romantic turbulence. She Has No Time as interpreted by Chaplin, is an emotional rollercoaster of a song, tinged with regret and a little optimism. Its pace is diverse and it stands head and shoulders above the other songs here. On A Day Like Today also manages to stand out from the crowd, along with the final rockier track, Bedshaped.

This is a very good opening gambit for the band and is strong enough to indicate a much more interesting future ahead. But like Coldplay and Travis, Keane have to progress thier song writing and take a few more risks. The band has a sonic identity, but it will need to expand its horizons beyond love and loss. For now, this will do nicely.

4/5