(Vinyl Love is a series of posts that quite simply lists, describes, and displays the pieces in my growing vinyl collection. You can bet that each record was given a spin during the drafting of each corresponding post.)
Artist: Keane
Album Title: Hopes and fears
Year released: 2004
Year reissued: 2017
Details: Gatefold sleeve, 180 gram, translucent green
The skinny: Back in 2004, when I first heard Keane’s single, “Somewhere only we know” (the standout track below), it reminded me of other English bands that I was already following at the time, like Coldplay, Embrace, and Travis. So, of course, I went out and got the debut album, “Hopes and fears”, on CD and found myself easily getting into the piano-focused, emotive indie rock. I had absolutely no idea how huge the album was in the band’s native country until I saw their performance at Live 8 and I was struck by their energy and dynamic as a trio led by the piano sound. From there, I became even more hooked and began to look forward to their followup album. Unfortunately, I was less enthused with that one and how it ventured further into pop territory, a trend that continued with each ensuing release. I don’t think I’ve even bothered to listen to Keane’s last two records but when I saw this green vinyl reissue sitting on the shelves at my local Sunrise Records location last year, I remembered the excitement I felt when I first listened to it and brought it home with me. I dropped the needle on it that very night and gladly reacquainted myself with every song.
Standout track: “Somewhere only we know”
My (life in) music lists 