‘Hopes And Fears’ by Keane

When Keane erupted onto the scene in 2004, they aimed to prove two things: that a band of privately educated posh boys could make it in the world of indie, and that they could do so without using guitars. The first of these aims wasn’t really that hard – the music world is far less dependent on the working classes than it would like to think it is, but the second was a fair challenge. Evidently, they were pretty successful in achieving that one as well, however, as ‘Hopes And Fears’ went on to become the most successful album of all time (I’d need to fact check that – but it felt like it probably was).

Listening back to it seven years on, it certainly has its charms. The album roughly divides into two groups. The first group is composed of upbeat sing-along anthems – ‘Somewhere Only We Know’, ‘Bend And Break’, ‘Everybody’s Changing’, ‘Your Eyes Open’, ‘Can’t Stop Now’ and ‘This Is The Last Time’. This group works well. The band undeniably have a good ear for a melody, and how to hook people into one. The second group, the slower ballad, is less successful. ‘We Might As Well Be Strangers’, ‘She Has No Time’and ‘On A Day Like Today’ – none of them are bad, exactly, but they drag a bit. ‘Bedshaped’, the final song of this group, is by far the most successful as it integrates the anthemic feel of the first group. Little wonder it became a fan favourite. Skirting in between these two groups are two other songs – ‘Sunshine’, which is a pleasant, slightly trippy track and ‘Untitled1’ which seems to have little idea what it is, as evidenced by the fact that – obviously – it doesn’t even have a title.

So, as a debut, it hits more often than it misses, and it did excellent business. It’s aged pretty well. Good stuff.