Review Summary: I can understand why Keane fans were confused, but Night Train is a strange case where I enjoy the confusion.
I hated Night Train. As if Keane really needed to expand upon their ill-advised career shift to 80s-influenced pop in Perfect Symmetry, here they drift even further away from the sound that millions of devoted fans learned to enjoy. I am one of them; Under the Iron Sea is one of my favorite albums of all time. This sounds nothing like that. What happened?
Well… Keane’s career moves pretty fast. None of their albums sound exactly alike, & a lot can happen in a few years. Night Train is just a part of their evolution & my opinion changed in a similar way. It’s a stopgap project, released during the Perfect Symmetry tour, but it’s deeper than such a status might suggest. Specifically, the band reworked their approach to create music that better fits their new sound. After an awkward transition to a “retro” pop sound, the songs here are more carefully constructed & staisfying to anyone who can accept the change.
However, the most interesting aspect of Night Train is that all of the songs are united by themes of nostalgia and reliving past glories. Keane’s music has usually been characterized by dark, personal lyrics and rich atmospheres. They’re still here, just carefully hidden under seemingly upbeat, diverse synthesizer-powered music. In a huge improvement over Perfect Symmetry, their synth-pop-inspired sound is actually a crucial factor to the EP’s meaning & appeal. This could have just been the band cashing in on 80s reminiscence again, but here they are forced to look forward as well as back, pushed down an uncertain road by progress & the march of time.
The short intro House Lights (7/10) sounds dense & ominous at first with its echoing sound effects & murky atmosphere, but it’s the wave of swirling synthesizers near the end that really set the tone for the rest of the EP.
Out of nowhere, the 80s synths immediately blare & the band kicks into full gear with Back in Time. Compared to the more arresting intro & choruses, the verses are more mellow but still restless, particularly with lyrics like “I’m not living for the moment anymore.” The kinetic energy and dynamic sound perfectly manage to surround you in chaos. (8/10)
Stop for a Minute is the point that makes or breaks the deal with fans. The booming hip-hop beat, bouncy synthesizers and impeccable melodies make this Keane’s most pop-oriented song to date. And I love it. The lyrics take a turn for the darker, though, discussing isolation and confusion. I’m not sure about feeling isolated, but the guest rap by K’naan certainly leaves me confused. Although this might just be me, I enjoyed his performance! It sounds really ill-conceived but somehow works in context. And while he may not be the best or most credible rapper, he serves his purpose well and wraps the song together. As the EP’s only single, this does not disappoint. (9/10)
The band experiments with more radical arrangements in Clear Skies, a sparse alternative-rock track played mostly using acoustic instruments. It sounds awkward at first, but it grew in stature to become one of my favorites. Richard Hughes’s percussion is especially appealing, with a combination of steady drums and smooth xylophone solos. The lyrics are a stark condemnation of fame-induced ego, but it’s easy to gloss over that with such a great vocal performance. With dizzying melodies and some exquisite back-up singing, it ranks among Tom Chaplin’s best. (9/10)
By far the EP’s most confusing moment is their cover of Ishin Denshin (You’ve Got to Help Yourself) by Yellow Magic Orchestra – a vintage J-Pop song, of all things! On top of that, the verses are sung by Japanese signer/rapper Tigarah! I couldn’t possibly tell you what the lyrics mean, although her lovely voice keeps the song afloat between the strangely infectious choruses. As if it couldn’t get any more peculiar, they really played up the Japanese angle with the bouncy electronic sound and a rather silly interlude. It literally sounds like nothing Keane has ever made before or since. Is it weird that I actually enjoy this anomaly? It’s really cheesy and all the more curiously fun because of it. (8/10)
Things chill out a bit for Your Love, a clear nod to the 80s sound they were going for. It sounds like a midnight cruise with the throbbing low-fi bass and the edgy synthesizers. Most notably, Tim Rice-Oxley delivers the lead vocal, and his voice sounds a bit softer and more vulnerable than Tom’s. The lyrics, which lean towards nostalgic feelings of love, add to the effect. It’s not a remarkable song, but it captures the lack of constancy that drives the Night Train forward. (7/10)
Nearing the end, we get Looking Back, which is another oddity. Not only does it feature K’naan again, but it almost directly samples the main theme from Rocky! Somehow, like the raps, it makes sense in context. And by context I refer once again to the bitterly nostalgic lyrics. However, it takes a different angle with Tom and K’naan discussing the importance of planning for the future rather than longing for the past. This marks the end of the search in the EP, because although this song might be a bit of a mess, the last song shows the band finding their way again. (6/10)
In a final twist of irony, My Shadow serves as both a throwback to Keane’s old music & a sudden return to the modern age. It also happens to be one of my favorite songs ever.
Everything that defined the band’s greatness is presented with full force in My Shadow, most notably the buildup. Fittingly, only a hushed synthesizer plays in the beginning before Chaplin’s comforting voice is introduced. After a quiet verse we hear something that had mostly been missing: a stark, beautiful piano melody. One of the most striking things about the song is the gorgeous lyrics, which set themselves apart with their celestial imagery and fit the vast, empty atmosphere perfectly. This is highlighted in the powerful chorus with lines such as “And you will see my shadow on every wall.” These elements already make for a promising moment when the excitement really kicks in.
By the time the drums subtly fall into place the thrill is already accelerating. The guitar interlude after the second chorus seems to hint towards further buildup. But out of nowhere, the song finally prepares itself to explode.
The third and final chorus could have easily been the climax of the song, yet they instead topped it off with something much grander: a massive coda that sends the song floating into speeding euphoria. It captures both the effortless beauty of Keane’s older work and the nervous excitement of Night Train in one sweeping moment of thunderous bliss that only ends when it has to. That alone makes this EP worth a listen. (11/10)
With that said, Night Train is an adventurous and frequently exciting little release. Uneven? Yes. Experimental? Certainly for Keane. Unnecessary and ill-advised? Personally, I prefer to call it “misunderstood”. Since then, they have released another album last year called Strangeland. Although it was promoted as a return to the band’s roots, it certainly carries influences from their synth-pop sound. And it was pretty good. But now that things have been put into perspective for me, I was surprised to find it less enjoyable than Night Train. Oh, well. At least Keane have proven that they know better than to rest on their laurels, whether the fans like it or not. And this short but restless journey of self-discovery stands as great proof of that. As Tom Chaplin sings in “My Shadow”…
“We won’t be leaving by the same road that we came by…”
