"BEDSHAPED" KEANE (2004)

You can get off to a fast start. You can sustain your opener with the main course, not filler. But can you end on a high note? Sometimes I wonder if recording a strong closer is the most difficult thing to pull off when it comes to album rock. When it comes to the cream of the crop in music, I can think of more strong openers than strong closers. Nonetheless, I still have my favorites which I’ll be featuring on Mental Jukebox all month.

The beauty of Hopes And Fears extends beyond the fact that each song in itself is exceptional. The near-perfect sequence in which the tracks are ordered is just as essential. The album starts with a triumphant entrance in “Somewhere Only We Know”. From there, it follows an arc of catchy mid-tempo tracks (“This Is The Last Time”, “Bend & Break”), slows down briefly for a ballad (“We Might As Well Be Strangers”) before picking things up again (“Everything’s Changing”). This roller-coaster arc repeats itself, culminating in one of the band’s finest songs ever recorded: “Bedshaped”.

The song juxtaposes an icy intro on the synthesizer with the sweltering vocals in the chorus. And then there’s the unforgettable arpeggios on the piano that give the song an equal dose of hope and fear – a theme that Keane examines throughout the entire track list. In a big year for rock, “Bedshaped” and the entire Hopes And Fears album distinguished themselves by reimagining the delicacy and bravado of the piano.

“You'll follow me back With the sun in your eyes And on your own. Bedshaped on legs of stone.”

"EVERYBODY'S CHANGING" KEANE (2004)

For the month of October, I’m taking the #OctAtoZBandChallenge challenge. The premise is simple. Pick a band starting with the day’s assigned alphabet letter and then choose a song from that band.

Day 11

2004, for me, was a prolific era for music. It was a year when established bands like Interpol and Modest Mouse flexed their recording muscles, while up-and-coming bands seemed to make a splash almost instantly. The Killers and Keane were two of the latter. Keane, in particular, felt like a band that was on top of the world for a brief moment in time. I don’t think the follow-up record came close, but that debut album is a thing of perfection. Each song seemed to be encased in a different emotional state that represented a hope or a fear, from the nostalgic bliss of the album opener “Somewhere Only We Know” to the passionate flurry of the closer “Bedshaped”. And track 5 was my favorite: “Everybody’s Changing”.

This was a song written before Keane exploded on the scene. A song about self-doubt and the fear of not making it while everyone else has moved on with their lives. It was an incredibly catchy song with a musical paradox: the lyrics were drenched in fear yet the melody exuded hope. As well as any other rock song, “Everybody’s Changing” found a way to use the piano to negate any need for guitar. It didn’t sound weak, empty or unrock & roll. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

“Trying to make a move just to stay in the game. I try to stay awake and remember my name. But everybody's changing, and I don't feel the same.”

"SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW" KEANE (2004)

One of the most powerful things about music is that it is the soundtrack of our lives. Fellow music fanatic Sharon Hepworth started a music challenge on Twitter for the month of July. Each day, fans around the world will select a song from their life and describe what it means to us. These are my songs. #SoundtrackToYourLife

Day 30

Hopes and Fears brings me back. A group of friends and I instantly loved this album when it first came out. We heard nothing else like it before. It was a piano-driven form of alternative rock that ascended into ecstasy with these achingly beautiful melodies. What makes “Somewhere Only We Know” more special to me these days is the fact that my oldest son also now loves this song. I will catch him singing it randomly sometimes, ever since that night he and my daughter joined their classmates in singing a beautiful rendition of the song at their spring concert. Their performance brought me right back to that year we first discovered the album.

“Somewhere Only We Know” opens triumphantly and beckons the listener in with those majestic piano chords. The verses start delicately, become more resolute, and intensify further into the chorus. It’s a gorgeous mid-tempo track. I used to wonder why my son loves this song so much compared to many other songs I’ve exposed to him over the years. I think it’s the song’s sense of permanence. Over the last 18 years, the song’s beauty has never faded or become obsolete. If anything, as more generations get to experience it, it has only become more and more beautiful.

“I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin.”

"EVERYBODY'S CHANGING" KEANE (2004)

Each day in December, I’ll be reflecting back on a song from the 2000’s. The decade saw the return of post-punk and the popularization of folk music, all while some of music’s biggest acts gained their indie footing. Thankfully, it’s a period that I can look back at fondly without cringing. #31DaysOf2000sSongs

I wrote earlier about the prolific musical era of 2004. It was a year when established bands like Interpol and Modest Mouse flexed their recording muscles, while up-and-coming bands seemed to make a splash almost instantly. The Killers and Keane were two of the latter. Keane, in particular, felt like a band that was on top of the world for a brief moment in time. I don’t think the follow-up record came close, but that debut album is a thing of perfection. Each song seemed to be encased in a different emotional state that represented a hope or a fear, from the nostalgic bliss of the album opener “Somewhere Only We Know” to the passionate flurry of the closer “Bedshaped”. And track 5 was my favorite: “Everybody’s Changing”.

This was a song written before Keane exploded on the scene. A song about self-doubt and the fear of not making it while everyone else has moved on with their lives. It was an incredibly catchy song with a musical paradox: the lyrics were drenched in fear yet the melody exuded hope. As well as any other rock song, “Everybody’s Changing” found a way to use the piano to negate any need for guitar. It didn’t sound weak, empty or unrock & roll. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

“Trying to make a move just to stay in the game. I try to stay awake and remember my name. But everybody's changing, and I don't feel the same.”

"SOMEWHERE ONLY WE KNOW" KEANE (2004)

Hopes and Fears brings me back. Me and a group of friends instantly loved this album. We heard nothing else like it before. And Keane never had anything like it since. What makes “Somewhere Only We Know” more special to me these days is the fact that my oldest son also now loves this song. I will catch him singing it randomly sometimes. I used to wonder why this song appealed to him so much. As I thought about it more, I realized it’s the song’s beauty. People are attracted to beautiful things. This song has proven over the last 15 years that true beauty never fades.

“Oh, simple thing, where have you gone? I'm getting old, and I need something to rely on. So tell me when you're gonna let me in. I'm getting tired, and I need somewhere to begin.”