Best of Keane

Photographers: Rob Sinclair; Alex Lake; Richard Hughes ; Kerry Heary; Chris Salmon .
Released to coincide with the heartfelt English alt-rockers' tenth recording anniversary (Keane formed in 1997 and waited seven years to release their long-player), this career retrospective collects 18 fan and band favorites culled from their four (as of 2013) studio albums, as well as two new singles, the ebullient "Higher Than the Sun" and the anthemic "Won't Be Broken." A piano rock band even less dangerous than Coldplay, Keane found a winning formula in 2004 with their debut album, Hopes and Fears, a slickly produced smorgasbord of amorous/lovelorn pop anthems and ballads that were made all the more vibrant and radio-ready by being delivered via the angelic croon of vocalist Tom Chaplin. The record cleaned up at awards season and spawned the group's two biggest hits in "Everybody's Changing" and "Somewhere Only We Know," which unsurprisingly reside at the one and two spots, respectively, on The Best of Keane. Released in 2006, Under the Iron Sea followed suit with the U.K. smash "Is It Any Wonder?," as well as lesser hits like "Crystal Ball," "A Bad Dream," and "Atlantic," all of which are included here, while 2008's Perfect Symmetry and 2012's Strangeland, though not as well regarded as the band's first two outings, were still brimming with considerable melodic pop riches like "Spiralling," "Silenced by the Night," and "Sovereign Light Café," helping the group to mark its ten-year run by selling over ten million records worldwide. The Best of Keane is also available in a deluxe edition that includes a bonus disc of B-sides, and in a super deluxe edition that adds both the B-sides disc and a DVD. ~ James Christopher Monger