After five consecutive No 1 albums, Keane failed to make it six with their comeback — but while the band from Battle were bested by Liam Gallagher in last week’s chart race, they seemed resurgent at the Albert Hall.
Reduced to lending his choirboy vocals to The Snowman’s Walking In The Air for a 2017 Christmas album, Tom Chaplin was thrilled to be back fronting the group after their six-year hiatus.
A lean 40-year-old with a greying quiff, the energetic singer was a testament to clean living following his admission of past addiction problems.
The downbeat lyrics from new album Cause And Effect, were an insight into the mid-life crisis of Keane’s songwriter and keys player Tim Rice-Oxley. Chaplin praised the “honesty and vulnerability” of Strange Room, an account of Rice-Oxley’s arrest for drink-driving.
With strange synths and clanging chords, Put The Radio On marked an intriguing sonic evolution, though Chaplin broke the spell by suggesting it was about “shagging”. You’re Not Home was an affecting break-up song that made sparing use of familiar warm melodies.
Over two hours, Keane often reverted to uplifting mid-Noughties tunes, such as Somewhere Only We Know. But the awkwardly perky pop of Spiralling has dated in a way their debut album has not.
Keane don’t need to chase hits. The moody, middle-aged angst in their live return showed the way forward.
