It’s the weekend, so let’s forget work, kick back and listen to some music.
(Oh no! I hear you protest … but it’s ok, it’s not about Depeche Mode this week 😉)
I rather like Keane, you know.
Not something I’d have gone shouting from the houses a few years ago (when I cared what people thought 😆) as they seemed a tad lightweight… too catchy for their own good… even a bit boy band-y, dare I say?
Didn’t stop me from buying all their albums and going to see them live… but I wouldn’t have let you know any of that, lol.
And then they grew up, self-destructed, split up, eventually made up and put out their best ever album: a proper grown up thing that ticks off large swathes of the human experience, good, bad and very messy.
(As an aside, I’d completely forgotten they existed, and had no idea about this ‘new’ (2019) album they’d released, until I found an interview on a podcast I like listening to—Sodajerker On Songwriting—where the band’s song writer talked through his process and the stories behind all the new songs… it’s a fascinating listen, highly recommended.)
The songs are just as catchy and upbeat as they used to be (more so, maybe!) but now instead of being about unrequited, youthful love, or how they all get on each others’ wicks, they tackle all sorts of big life things they’ve been through, so you don’t have to, for example:
- Separation & divorce (You’re Not Home)
- Burnout (Love Too Much)
- Parenting (I’m Not Leaving)
- Mental health struggles (The Way I Feel; Put the Radio On; Difficult Year)
- Getting busted for drink driving and ending up in jail (Strange Room)
- Infidelity (Stupid things)
… and lest we think this is all doom and gloom (it’s really not), we’ve also got:
- Forgiveness (Thread)
- Love being more important than ‘stuff’ (I Need Your Love)
- Finding someone special (Chase the Night Away)
- Turning the corner (Golden Age)
But the one that I always come back to, that really has a laser focus on the human condition, is called Phases. I absolutely love it, and will happily wreck my voice, belting it out at full volume (his register is waaaaay higher than mine). Here you go, have a listen:
PHASES
A plan is a work of art
A house built to fall apart
You're digging for the answers
Crawl across the world to find
There are just more questions
Waiting on the other side
But you're still here
You're bleeding, but you're still here
Phases, the motion of our lives
Ages, the rote of changes
Erases the ink before it dries on pages
It's all just phases
And sometimes you feel how good it is
And low tide gives way to high tide
And hard times, we watch them come and go
Like crazes, it's all just phases.
It’s really one to fall back on when you’re going through tough times and you need someone to let you know that THIS TOO SHALL PASS. Five, ten years from now, you won’t even remember what’s going on at the moment and everything will have changed again… ’cos it’s all just phases, innit?
(It’s bloody catchy, too.)
You can listen to the whole album for free on YouTube here (click on the image, or follow the link beneath).
Visit Keane's YouTube Channel to listen to Cause And Effect
Have yourself a lovely weekend.
💟
Giles
p.s. if like me, you liked their early stuff but had no idea this album even existed then OMG you’re in for a treat!! – there’s not one moment of filler on there.