Part of being a fan of music is having your expectations confounded. It can be exhilarating, confusing, upsetting… but at least it’s bloody interesting. Who saw Radiohead going all skronky pre-Kid A, for instance?
Which brings me to Keane. I’ve bored most people I know senseless with my utter loathing of Keane. Sappy, apparently soulless, funk-free supermarket bollocks, in a nutshell. Even when I heard one of their songs I half-liked - it was “Crystal Ball”, OK? - I only ended up hating them even more. It’s like when someone you detest accidentally says something funny - just because you laugh it doesn’t mean you like them.
ANYWAY. All of this is a preamble before I admit that I like the new Keane song “Spiralling”. I don’t half like it, either. I LIKE like it. Without irony or any of that smirking obtuseness you might expect from a music writer.

It’s pretty much everything Keane have failed to be up until now - it’s funky, bold and goddammit it is FUN. It draws on weird 80s influences, it has a beat that reminds you of Dizzee Rascal’s “Fix Up Look Sharp”… it’s barely recognisable as the same band. Hence why I like it so much.
Now, can we expect more of the same for the band’s forthcoming album? Or is this a frustratingly brief diversion before the pinky-plonky sappy shit comes back?
Download Keane’s “Spiralling” for free until August 11th here

Possibly related:

1. Fflam Festival hosts Keane, Buzzcocks and more

2. I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To: Joy Division

3. I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To: Arctic Monkeys

4. I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To… The Knife

5. I Don’t Like Them As Much As I’m Supposed To… The Verve

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Posted by Stuart Waterman on Tuesday August 5th, 2008 at 11:14 am