MUSIC ZONE
Keane — Hopes & Fears (Universal)
Saurabh & Gaurav

Hopes and Fears is one of those rare debut efforts which screams of quality, from the simple, piano-laden melodies, to lead singer Tom Chaplin’s enticing, falsetto-tinged vocal style. Somewhere Only We Know, Sunshine and This is The Last Time are all beautiful tracks crammed with uplifting melodies, soaring piano build-ups and catchy choruses. In a similar vein, Your Eyes Open, and Bend And Break are charmingly upbeat yet tender and illustrate the band’s writing abilities. The album is at its absolute best during the up-tempo tracks, but Chaplin and co prove themselves to be equally adept at ballads, with the aching We Might As Well Be Strangers and She Has No Time.

Bjork’s fifth solo release Medulla arrives with the distinction of having been recorded by relying almost solely on myriad textures and timbre of the human voice, with only the odd exploratory instrument used to back things up. Vokuro is one of two songs sung in Björk’s native Icelandic, and is in fact an adaptation of a piano piece by Jorunn Vidar. Collaborating with an array of talented singers, Björk strips away pre-programmed beats in favour of human beatboxes (Japanese artist Dokaka and former Roots member Rahzel), and employs the talents of Inuit throat-singer Tanya Tagaq Gillis, veteran UK singer-songwriter Robert Wyatt and hyper-prolific vocalist Mike Patton.

The former Velvet Underground member is probably the only musician who has worked with both experimental composer John Cage and pop-rock aesthete Lou Reed. HoboSapiens, John’s pop release since 1996’s Walking On Locusts finds the Welshman sounding decidedly like himself — but as fresh as a musician half his age. Cale has used plenty of modern studio gadgetry, working with Lemon Jelly’s Nick Franglen as producer, and vaguely tapped into his current fondness for Beck and the Beta Band. The soundscapes are built and developed as an array of beautiful sounds and fused into immensely committed songs. Things is a wonderfully upbeat tribute to the recently departed Warren Zevon, with Things to Do in Denver When You’re Dead. A fearless presence on the avant-garde for four decades, the 61-year-old has made his most direct, energised and modernist work in years.

Acid-fried tone poems and obvious ‘60s psychedelic influences roughly define the Animal Collective sound. Sung Tongs is more melodious than last year’s pair of releases (Campfire Songs and Here Comes The Indian). Leaf House and Who Could Win a Rabbit open the record with a cosy atmosphere created from soaring harmonies. Sung Tongs is a striking record, a breath of fresh air to the indi rock community. At times, however, the album sounds like a concession to the rest of us, and that’s not a very exciting prospect from such a unique and potentially great band.

This feature was published on October 2, 2004