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Contest Fri Jul 23 2010
All Aboard the Night Train with Keane (+ Contest)
There are not many bands who go nearly a decade from inception to debut album. But if it's all about honing your craft and releasing the best product imaginable, then I'm all for it. And that seemed to be the case with Keane. Their 2004 debut Hopes & Fears made a big splash stateside on the strength of singles like "Somewhere Only We Know" and "Everybody's Changing." Often lazily compared to a popular piano-driven British band, Keane's kept themselves separable with Tom Chaplin's rich tenor and relying solely on keys and percussion for instrumentation. On their sophomore album Under the Iron Sea, they progressed from uplifting pop to a darker electronic-influenced sound ("Atlantic"). But then its followup, Perfect Symmetry, returned them to a bright synthy point that practically plays out like an homage to 80s pop.
2010's Night Train simply reinforces that Keane is totally comfortable changing their sound for every release. The EP features collaborations with Somali rapper K'Naan (on 2 tracks) and Japanese MC Tigarah (on a fairly faithful Yellow Magic Orchestra cover) and an array of pushes in a half-dozen directions. As schizophrenic as that may sound, it's still all catchy. And now you have a chance to win a copy of Night Train signed by Keane ahead of their performance at the Chicago Theatre next week. Just email "NIGHT TRAIN" to contests@gapersblock.com and we'll pick 5 winners. [Update! Our winners have all been notified! Thanks to everyone who wrote in!]
Keane plays the Chicago Theatre on Wednesday with Ingrid Michaelson and Travis' Fran Healy opening. Tickets range from $49.50 to $29.50. The show's open to all ages and begins at 7PM.