Night Train, by Keane

In all fairness, this is not technically considered an album, but rather a large EP, with 8 songs lasting about half an hour. Nevertheless, as this album is about as long as some of the shorter albums I have reviewed (Everything But The Girl’s “Amplified Heart” and Gin Blossom’s “New Miserable Experience” among them), I will consider this particular collection of tracks, a double EP if you will, to be a short album the same way I would consider a 100 page short story to be a short novel and leave it at that. The title of this album has some thematic significance to Keane, as the image of the night train is something that pops up frequently in Keane’s lyrics. The album itself was moderately successful, with one British Top 40 hit (“Stop For A Minute,” featuring K’Naan) and containing one song on their Best Of Compilation, the moving piano ballad “My Shadow.” Nevertheless, the short length of this album has made it rather fiercely viewed by some Keane fans, who don’t think this album gives enough cluck for the buck. Let us give this short album a track-by-track review:

House Lights – This short instrumental track opens with the sound of what appears to be a train rolling along the tracks, serving as Grammy-bait as well as mood setter for the album, similar to the way that “The Iron Sea” sets the mood for “Under The Iron Sea.”

Back In Time – This song has a dance pop feel to it, and has a melancholy feel about a sweetheart going back in time while the narrator claims to be awake, even if he does appear to be daydreaming on the train ride. With its ominous synth sounds, this song does not appear to think that going back in time will necessarily involve any pleasant matters.

Stop For A Minute f/K’Naan – This song was a popular hit in Britain, and contains an interesting rap from the Somali-born K’Naan [1]. With its driving beat, it broods on relationship issues, co-dependency, and the desire to escape responsibility for a life that has gone disastrously wrong. It is a surprisingly grim song for its upbeat music, but sometimes the music can mask what a song is really saying. I happen to relate all too well to the song’s lyrics.

Clear Skies – With its hand clap beat, this song straddles the line between hopeful and sad. When the song says that the narrator has never seen such beauty or clear skies, it is hard to tell if the narrator is appreciating those he is seeing now, or longing for better days yet to come that he has not yet seen, except that there appear to be some definite longings attached with the woman he is with.

Ishin Denshin (You’ve Got To Help Yourself) f/Tigarah – This song has a bit of a trippy sort of carnival sound encouraging self-respect and taking personal responsibility, which sounds a bit ironic in light of the album as a whole. Tigarah adds sweet, girlish vocals for this duet, and it would be nice to know better what she was singing, as her vocals are buried a bit low in the mix. Still, this is a pretty song with a message of helping others as well as oneself, and it is pleasant to listen to.

Your Love – This is the sort of dance pop song that would have been perfect on the band’s previous album, but it has a bit of a winter chill about it, both because its lyrics explicitly talk about a chill in the air, as well as the fact that the song references the past. The song would appear to express belief in the fact that love can help make the past easier to bear, even if it does not entirely erase one’s memories. It is a beautiful song, though, if a bit gloomy.

Looking Back f/K’Naan – The intro to this song would have fit in in the 1970’s or on a Kanye west song like “Touch The Sky,” so it only makes sense that this song features K’Naan and features familiar concerns for Keane as well as this album in particular for looking back. Ironically, Keane and K’Naan criticize someone for always looking distracted and thinking about the past. It is an admirable concept, to desire to look forward, but it does not feel just for the band to criticize others for what they do all the time. I am not sure if the irony is intentional, after all.

My Shadow – This moody but intensely beautiful piano ballad closes the album by basically contradicting the point of the last song, by reflecting on the shadows of our lives reflecting on the lives of others. It is a haunting song that reminds one of some of the similar songs at the end of previous Keane albums, like “Bedshaped” or “Love Is The End.” In a way, we are all haunted by our pasts, by the people we have known, by the memories that we carry with us wherever we go. It makes for sad reflections, but occasionally beautiful songs, like this one.

Overall, this album both looks back at the past, reflects the band’s present (at the time of the album’s release in 2010), and even contains some marked departures both in the fact that it includes three duets (not something that Keane is known for) as well as the inclusion of raps on two numbers. It features gorgeous piano ballads, some dance pop very much in line with their previous album, and it features a strong tension between looking forward and looking back, between a desire to overcome the past and the comfort of what is known and familiar. It is a familiar tension, and makes for a worthwhile album, even if it is a short one.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2013/07/23/the-dusty-foot-philosopher/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2012/01/06/wave-your-flag/