Arguably Keane’s boldest creative assertion to this point, 2008’s Excellent Symmetry captured the British trio stepping out of its consolation zone and attempting out new sounds and types. Whereas the album resulted in inventive and industrial success, the band’s collective want to embrace change was initially pushed by necessity.
“Even the title of [our preceding album] Under The Iron Sea suggested all was not well with the band,” vocalist Tom Chaplin informed the Irish Impartial on the time of Excellent Symmetry’s launch. “It was written on a tour bus and it has that sense of claustrophobia – of a band sick of each other, sick of the sight of the road and sick of the world around them. It was a dark place and a dark time.”
It’s been properly documented how Keane’s early success additionally took a private toll on Chaplin, who submitted to a spell in rehab following the tour supporting Underneath The Iron Sea. Nevertheless, his enforced layoff gave Keane a much-needed alternative to recharge batteries and plot a brand new course for the long run. This concerned Tim Rice-Oxley including some classic 80s synths to his arsenal and including new textures to the songs for Excellent Symmetry which the band recorded at Teldex Studios in Berlin.
Elaborating additional within the Irish Impartial, Chaplin stated “We were inspired by people who had made the big departures…. U2 and David Bowie [in Berlin] come to mind. They went there and felt a sense of liberation and the opportunity to do something that really was different. That’s something we felt too. We wanted to throw the rule book out of the window. To me, it’s a record that feels profound and exciting.”
Actually, the very best of the Excellent Symmetry songs showcased Keane sounding re-energized – and likewise able to throwing just a few curves. In any case, whereas the album included quintessential slow-burning anthems resembling “Again And Again,” “Love Is The End,” and the swish titular music, it additionally noticed Tom Chaplin and firm pulling off the brassy, 80s disco-style fanfares of “Spiralling,” the Bowie-esque bump and grind of “Better Than This” and even the funk-imbued, guitar-enhanced “Pretend That You’re Alone.”
Satisfied they’d made their most adventurous – but additionally cohesive – album to this point, Keane felt gratified when followers and critics alike wholeheartedly agreed. When Excellent Symmetry was launched in October 2008, it topped the UK charts and made the Prime 10 of the US Billboard 200. The Guardian praised songwriter Rice-Oxley’s “ear for a razor-sharp pop tune” and Billboard declared that “Perfect Symmetry bursts out of the gate with a suite of giddy, 80s-inflected Brit pop songs that, surprisingly, suit the band well.” Certainly, the heat of the reception caught Keane utterly off guard.
“We just thought we would make music that pleased us, rather than trying to second-guess what people wanted to hear,” Tom Chaplin stated in 2008. “And you know what? By pleasing ourselves, we’ve managed to please lots of other people as well.”
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