I came back to write about all the things I like on my blog, among these things there is the album Strangeland by Keane. I've started to listen to Keane through this album in later 2012/2013, even if I knew the band since 2005. So, since Strangeland came to my life in 2013, Keane has assumed a very special place in my heart mainly because I feel related to the lyrics and the melodies guided by Tim Rice-Oxley's piano style.
I wrote about Keane on a previous post and since then I had so much to talk about them, but just now I had time to organize everything and choose what should be on this post. Keane is the only band that I feel so much affection about because of the meaning of their song lyrics, they're related to my feelings, in a very subjective manner. Thus, I decided to write about my dear Strangeland and, of course, write about my dear Keane composed by Tim, Tom, Richard, and Jesse.
The album
Released on 7th March 2012, Strangeland has 12 tracks on the standard version and the deluxe version has 4 bonus tracks. There are the other versions of the album released on Japan and iTunes which has the bonus track Myth, the B-side of the album's first single: Silenced By The Night. The streaming services like Deezer and Spotify have 2 extra songs on the acoustic version. Here goes the full tracklist:
1. You Are Young
2. Silenced By The Night
3. Disconnected
4. Watch How You Go
5. Sovereign Light Café
6. On The Road
7. The Starting Line
8. Black Rain
9. Neon River
10. Day Will Come
11. In Your Own Time
12. Sea Fog
13. Strangeland (Bonus)
14. Run With Me (Bonus)
15. The Boys (Bonus)
16. It's Not True (Bonus)
17. Myth (iTunes)
17. Silenced By The Night - Acoustic Live Session in Copenhagen (Streaming)
18. The Starting Line - Acoustic Live Session in Copenhagen (Streaming)
In an interview with Sapo.pt, Tim - keyboard/synthesizers player and songwriter - talked about how Strangeland sounds and the emotional content of its lyrics. He said when he started composing the content had a sad and depressive perspective, however, through the process, it changed and become hopeful. Besides, Tim described Strangeland as if it was the union of two Keane albums - Hopes & Fears and Under The Iron Sea - because of the sounding and the lyrics. The full interview can be seen below:
Credits to Keane Portugal for making this video available on YouTube
Singles
Silenced By The Night
Released on 13th March 2012, Silenced By The Night was the first Keane song after a long hiatus since the release of their EP Night Train. On Keane Official Site, Tim talked about this song and said it come in the period he was testing a method to compose more songs, it happened because he thought he has composing less due to the Perfect Symmetry Tour. About the chords on the song, he said it come in the middle of the composition process of trying to compose write music faster using the inspiration that comes at the moment, so Tim tried to use the "repeating chord thing" and then it became what he called "the hypnotic piano riff" of Silenced By The Night.
About the lyrics, Tim said the rhythm sounded associated with driving, like "a driving song", and he associated it with the fact he likes to drive at night, so the music's title turns out that way. About the chorus, he said, when was writing the lyrics, just remembered about some subject he has read on Nick Drake's Biography, something related to the fact when people who were passed through so depressive things can have no hope when the night comes, but when the sun rises in the morning, the sensation of the things can be manageable again comes back, in his words: "So the idea of trying to make it through the night to the dawn became the chorus of the song".
Silenced By The Night has an acoustic version and a remix version by Alesso (YouTube | Deezer | Spotify).
The second single presents the album's theme and main reference: East Sussex, England - the region where the band's hometown is in. This song has the same title as the café in Bexhill-on-Sea, the coast region next to Battle - the hometown of Tom, Tim, and Richard. The video was made on Bexhill-On-Sea and shows some sceneries presented on Strangeland's artwork. So, the name Strangeland is a reference to the region composed by: Battle, Bexhill, and Hastings (I'm going to discuss it on the topic about Keane Trail).
On the Keane Official Site, Tim said this song was the first he composed to Keane next album and he was sure it should be on the tracklist. Tim said he composed the melody previously in 2009 and when he and the other guys were going from the airport to the hotel in São Paulo (Brazil wins), he remembered the old café where they usually went to, which is in Bexhill-On-Sea. Then after remembering about other events, he had the idea to look back, to the beginning and try to work about what happened with him and the other Keane members in the past 15 years.
Sovereign Light Café has two acoustic versions (Sea Fog Acoustic and Battle Abbey Session) and a remix version by Afrojack (YouTube | Spotify | Deezer).
Finally, Strangeland has a third single called Disconnected (YouTube | Deezer | Spotify).
Finally, Strangeland has a third single called Disconnected (YouTube | Deezer | Spotify).
Where listen and download
Keane Trail - Take a Tour of Strangeland
Based on the references presented in the album's artwork and on the songs, Strangeland is composed of: Battle, Hastings, and Bexhill-On-Sea, places in the state of East Sussex, South of England. Due to this, the Keane Trail - Take a Tour of Strangeland was created. The tour has stops on all the places mentioned in the song lyrics. The affection and the connection of the band with their hometown, Strangeland brings a nostalgic feeling to the fans, thus many people take the tour and visit the places which are easy to recognize.
#KeaneTrail on Instagram
Due to fame of the album and the song, the Sovereign Light Café has a menu made by Keane members, a little museum with the place's story and Keane stuff, also the café sells Keane mugs there.
Interview about Keane Trail
On an interview in Battle YouTube Channel, Tom and Richard share memories about their hometown and tell how they somehow met each other. They tell stories about things they did, like riding bikes, go to the beach, and go to the Sovereign Light Café to drink tea and other stuff. The things they did are mentioned in the Strangeland songs, mainly in Sovereign Light Café. Besides, they share funny stories about familiar places that are also mentioned in the songs: Marley Lane, Mansers Shaw, and East Parade. Tom and Richard talk about how the coast and the beach are related to the culture of the region and how these places are part of the people's lives. Finally, Strangeland is an ode to their hometown.
My impressions
As I said first, Keane becomes important to me after finding and listening to Strangeland and it becomes one of my favorite albums, furthermore, I feel attached and have a great affection to this album all its songs. Silenced By The Night and Run With Me were the tracks I listened for the first time and liked them instantly, besides the great role of the piano melodies on Keane compositions, mainly in Strangeland, made me identify with the songs because I feel like it can touch my feelings. About the lyrics, Strangeland is very emotional, like me. The feeling of hope and the thinking of overcoming the hard times are the main subjects present in the whole album. In my opinion, the song On The Road is the great expression of the positive content present on Strangeland:
"So when the Sun is coming up and you go / And there's still so many things you don't know / Don't you look back, I've no doubt that I / Will see you on the road / And when the world's laying you low / Why don't you let me carry your load? / When things get bad, you know you'll have a friend / All along the road"
The positive perspective is present in almost all the songs of this album even if the content of the lyrics is related to loss, difficult times, and endings. Like this, feelings and emotions are present and showed through on the melodies of the songs: The Starting Line, Sea Fog, Watch How You Go, In Your Own Time, and Run With Me. There are tracks that sound more animated, like: Day Will Come, You Are Young, Sovereign Light Café, and The Boys. The melancholic ones are: Black Rain, Neon River, Disconnected, It's Not True, Strangeland, and Myth.
Finally, Strangeland is so important and so dear to me. Every song and their melodies sound so unique and I feel like they can express a little of who I am, how I think. Keane itself is made of emotional people, which makes me feel attached to the band too. The emotional side of Keane members can be seen on their official site where they say:
"People can get very serious about music. But at Keane gigs, everyone's smiling. Even if you're singing about heartbreak, confusion and desperation. Being able to connect with people, that's really all we care about" (Tim)
"I think we all just want to feel connected, don't we? (...) To the world. To each other. I hope if we've done anything we've given people a sense that world is not such a huge scary place as it can sometimes seem. That we are all in it together. To the end. So you might as well try and understand what is to be a human being, while we're all here" (Tom)
See you at the next post!
References and Images Sources
Keane on social media
