Hopes and Fears by Keane

“I’m getting old and I need something to rely on”

Well, if Coldplay are distinctly uncool, I really have gone the whole way with this choice. But guess what? I don’t care. I discovered Keane’s 2004 debut album Hopes and Fears about six months after everybody else, and it’s consistently great. I can count on one hand the number of albums which have as many memorable hooks as this, but which never seem to get boring with repetition. And who’d have thought a rock band not based around guitars, and seemingly so underpowered, could make such an epic sound?

There’s no let-up, for sure, and the lack of real variety may be the biggest criticism that can be levelled at the album. But great vocals, great sound, and I suspect they’ll never do anything as good.

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