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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Phoebe Luckhurst

Keane - Cause and Effect review: Muted comeback won't convert non-believers

Some bands do comebacks with a bang; Keane’s is more muted. Their fifth album comes after a four-year hiatus and is an introspective record about reconciliation and heartbreak, depression, grief and dislocation. In other words, it’s not a laugh a minute — but the depth of feeling (mostly) makes up for the melancholy.

Opening track You’re Not Home does, admittedly, start out sounding like someone discovered the preset soundtracks programmed into a kid’s keyboard. But when lead singer Tom Chaplin’s voice kicks in it is rich storytelling. There are other misfires in a five-and-a-half-minute-long song — mainly the accidentally comic moments of repetition, like when he sings “phone, phone, phone” — but the swell of instrumentals is affecting and effective. It’s a good start.

Lead single The Way I Feel is, lyrically, the most sophisticated track, all about the intricacies of depression. I’m Not Leaving is an anthem which you can imagine sung around a stadium (or the Albert Hall, where Keane play next month). Put The Radio On recalls the understated alchemy of the band’s early songs and Phases has a punchy beat.

Cause and Effect won’t necessarily convert non-believers but for fans it’ll be a welcome return.

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