Keane Would Prefer If You Didn’t Mention Coldplay, Thanks

Our look at the closing lines of the biggest new-music reviews continues with a roundup of reactions to Perfect Symmetry, the new album by British trio Keane:

• “The more recent comparisons–to Radiohead and Coldplay–still hold, especially when singer Tom Chaplin launches the most aching version of his smooth croon on the elegiac finale, ‘Love Is the End.’ But the guitar-less trio has quietly become one of the strongest pop purveyors of its generation and will no doubt soon be the influencer itself.” [Boston Globe]

• “Only a few missteps, like the treacly, oddly Josh Grobanesque ”You Don’t See Me,” mar the mood. As rock goes, Symmetry remains a relatively quiet riot, but in the context of the band itself, it’s a welcome revelation.” [Entertainment Weekly]

• “‘I absolutely do not care what is considered to be fashionable or cool or tasteful–it’s much more about following our own instincts,’ bleats Tim Rice-Waterhouse-Oxley or whatever the fuck he’s called. That’s fine, granddad. We’re not listening.” [NME]

• “But the real beauty here is the gorgeous, more conventional ballad ‘Love Is the End,’ a love story that leisurely unfolds over spare piano and skittering electronic drums. While all of Keane’s new-wave weirdness on ‘Perfect Symmetry’ merits smiles, ‘Love Is the End’ actually warms the heart.” [Newsday]