Keane - Hopes & Fears

Every so often, a glimmer of hope crash lands into the music industry, and quickly settles firmly into the hearts and minds of the music lovers. Such glimmers are occurring all the time, but without the benefit of hindsight it becomes hard to gauge exactly where, and when to catch them. Several pop sparkles ignited and seeped into the world's consciousness around the start of the last decade; sparkles that are currently shining the brightest and outselling all contemporaries.
As the summer began back in 2004, one such sparkle appeared in the mainstream chart, and after being embraced by the nation, nay, the world, has stayed ever since.
From the opening bars of 'Somewhere Only We Know', it was clear that British band Keane held the longevity to exist within the rough music industry. The tracks pounding rhythm, dreamy tone and lullaby melody neatly set the standard present throughout the band's debut album 'Hopes & Fears', and also what would become a successful trademark sound for them.
As the album floats on, the exquisite range of the Battle based group's songwriting is explored and showcased in great detail, from the epic and hugely powerfully anthems of 'Bend And Break', 'Everybody's Changing' and 'This Is The Last Time', to the more intimate and dreamy ballads of 'We Might As Well Be Strangers', 'She Has No Time' and the achingly beautiful fan favourite 'Bedshaped'.
However, the pinnacle of Keane's skilled craftsmanship on this collection has to be 'On A Day Like Today', wafting over the listener with a delicate grace, through its enchanting lustful lyrics, and hauntingly ethereal atmosphere.
If one was to define the overall tone of 'Hopes & Fears', it would quite possibly depict a feeling of comfort, warmth, elegance and introspection; like blissfully daydreaming whilst meandering through a dense forest. The body of work here does have the essence of nature about it, which is perhaps a product of the youthful simplicity of the songwriting from the band. This may be why it seems as if Keane have always been with us, constructing perfect pop songs and visions of troubled dream states that soundtrack our lives so perfectly. Even though we may not have seen it back in 2004, Keane were definitely sparkling, and 6 years on, show no signs of stopping.