Ashley Reid
Staff Writer

Chimes and a piano delicately ring. A drumbeat gradually appears. A bright and soft melody begins playing. Tom Chaplin’s voice sings, ”In a city like mine there’s no point in fighting/ I close my eyes and see, you and me driving, if I am a river you are the ocean. Got the radio on, the wheels in motion.” Tom Chaplin takes his time to emphasize each lyric. A powerful chorus booms into a Keane euphoria: “We were silenced by the night, but you and I we gonna rise again, divided from the light I wanna love the way we used to when.” This song “Silenced by The Night” about love and hope in a dark world is Keane’s latest single on their new album “Strangeland”, set to release on May 7th. It has been two years since Keane has released the EP Night Train so Keane’s upcoming album is particularly exciting for fans like me.

Composed of singer Tom Chaplin, piano and keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley, and drum player Richard Hughes, Keane’s musical journey has been inconsistent. What started as a subtle alternative rock band, famously known for using a piano as the primary instrumental has evolved into a more techno and futuristic ensemble, which all started with the album “Perfect Symmetry” (2008). One can tell from “Silenced by the Night”, however, that Keane has returned to its piano roots; the single resembles the band’s older songs such as “Bedshaped,” “Is It Any Wonder” and “Crystal Ball” but remains fresh and new. Chaplin’s vocals toward the end of “Silenced by the Night” resemble the same climatic touchstone of the song “Perfect Symmetry” and “Sovereign Light Café,” another song from the new album, shows promise of a return to the old Keane days. These new songs feature a new Keane band mate, Jesse Quin, (bass) who has performed with Keane before and has also collaborated with Tim Rice-Oxley on their album “Mt. Desolation” (2010).

So what will Keane fans do until the greatly anticipated release of “Strangeland”? There will have to be some waiting, waiting and more waiting, but until fans can find “Silenced by The Night” on Keane’s website and a recent Jimmy Kimmel Live performance on YouTube. After that, fans will just have to quench their unbearable Keane thirst by repeating “play” on their computers “Again and Again” (no Keane pun intended), until the arrival of what Keane believes will be its best album to date.