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''Strangeland'' is the fourth studio album by English
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...
band
Keane, released on 4 May 2012 through
Island Records
Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...
. It is their first full-length album since ''
Perfect Symmetry'' (2008), as well as the first to feature bassist
Jesse Quin
Jesse Joseph Quin (born 3 September 1981) is an English multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer best known as the bass player of the British pop rock band Keane. Jesse also founded and runs an arts centre on an abandoned U.S. Air ...
as an official member.
Two singles were released preceding the album's release: "
Silenced by the Night
"Silenced by the Night" is a song by English rock band Keane from their fourth studio album '' Strangeland''. It was released worldwide as the album's lead single on 13 March 2012, except for the United Kingdom where it was released on 13 Apri ...
" and "
Disconnected". The former was released internationally on 13 March 2012, while the latter was released on 27 April 2012. The video for "
Disconnected" won Best Video at the
Q Awards
The Q Awards were the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine '' Q''. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards became one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards. Locations for the awards ceremony included Abbey Road Studios ...
on 22 October 2012. The album received generally mixed reviews from critics but became Keane's fifth consecutive number-one album on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
.
Background
Keane began working on demo tracks for ''Strangeland'' in 2010. In May 2011 the band met up with English producer
Dan Grech-Marguerat
Daniel James Grech-Marguerat, also known as Dan Grech, (born 11 July 1981 in Bedford), is an English / Maltese recording engineer, record producer and mixer. His production style pulls together a blend of alternative and pop genres. He is recogn ...
, who according to
Tim Rice-Oxley
Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin ...
is "a massive Keane fan".
The producer said the band wanted to "
oback to the songwriting of their first two albums", while making an album that sounded "rich and simpler".
According to Rice-Oxley, the album is inspired by
The Vaccines
The Vaccines are an English indie rock band, formed in West London in 2010. Band members Justin Hayward-Young (lead vocals, guitar), Freddie Cowan (lead guitar, vocals), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys, vocals) and ...
' album ''
What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?'' (2011), which was produced by Grech-Marguerat: "We loved what Dan Grech did on The Vaccines album. It had just come out. He'd also done stuff with
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (lead guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Greenwood (bass) ...
and produced the second
Howling Bells
Howling Bells are an Australian indie rock band that formed in London in 2004. The band obtained moderate popularity in the United Kingdom following the release of its 2006 self-titled debut album. The lineup consists of Juanita Stein (vocals, ...
album, which I loved."
Compared to Keane's previous full-length studio album ''
Perfect Symmetry'' (2008), the album focuses more on songwriting: "We wanted it be less production led and focus on making sure that the songs were great. You write a lot of shit songs to get to the good ones." Tom Chaplin also said the sound of the album is reminiscent of earlier Keane, calling ''Perfect Symmetry'' "a bit self-indulgent".
Critical reception
''Strangeland'' received generally mixed reviews from
music critics
Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...
. At
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 60 based on 17 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".
Chuck Campbell of the ''
Knoxville News Sentinel
The ''Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News,'' is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company.
History
The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: ''The ...
'' stating that ''Strangeland'' features "songs
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
are more complex, their messages more complicated and the sonic nuance saturated in emphatic shine", praising producer
Dan Grech-Marguerat
Daniel James Grech-Marguerat, also known as Dan Grech, (born 11 July 1981 in Bedford), is an English / Maltese recording engineer, record producer and mixer. His production style pulls together a blend of alternative and pop genres. He is recogn ...
for "giving balance to the drama and letting melody and message envelop the listeners and carry them away."
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur c ...
gave the album three and a half stars out of five, commenting that while "there is nothing overtly impressive going on in the instrumental department here (or on the entire album)", ''Strangeland'' had "varied song structures, interesting lyrical concepts, and a cohesive feel", concluding that it "is a good but not great album that will be enjoyed by fans of classic Keane."
Helen Lear from ''The Music'' wrote that ''Strangeland'' "will still sound to some like middle-of-the-road indie-pop" and "pretty much what you would expect from Keane", but "the tempo is noticeably more upbeat and the style more diverse than previous albums" and "offers some more fun in a grown-up style that may attract new fans to take a listen." Chris Roberts of the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
criticised ''Strangeland'' as "an unabashed scurry back to the comfort zone", and that "Keane lack blood, guts and muscle", with the album ultimately classed as "a somewhat saddening step backwards."
John Murphy of
musicOMH
MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
rated the album two stars out of five, where "melodies are stodgy and predictable", with "a whole bucket of cliches piled in", calling ''Strangeland'' "proof positive that playing it safe is not always the best option."
Ian Gittins of Virgin Media felt the album was "major musical step back from the wilful experimentalism of ''
Perfect Symmetry'', a record that saw Keane hiring dance producer
Stuart Price
Stuart David Price (born 9 September 1977) is an English electronic musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer known for his work with artists including Madonna, Dua Lipa, The Killers, New Order, Kylie Minogue, DMA's, Example, Take ...
and leaping far out of their comfort zone", commenting that the album "finds them fairly back in the middle of the road".
Commercial performance
In the United Kingdom, ''Strangeland'' debuted at number one on the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...
with first-week sales of 47,839 copies.
It is Keane's fourth consecutive number-one album, a record only beaten at the time by
ABBA
ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...
(eight),
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
(eight),
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
(seven)
Oasis
In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.”
The location of oases has been of critical imp ...
(seven) and
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...
(six).
The album has sold around 100,000 copies in the UK, being certified gold.
The album also reached number one in Ireland and the Netherlands, becoming their second number-one album in both countries.
It debuted and peaked at #17 in the US.
Singles
"
Silenced by the Night
"Silenced by the Night" is a song by English rock band Keane from their fourth studio album '' Strangeland''. It was released worldwide as the album's lead single on 13 March 2012, except for the United Kingdom where it was released on 13 Apri ...
" was released as the album's lead single worldwide except for the United Kingdom on 13 March 2012.
Keane performed "Silenced by the Night" for the first time on 12 March on American talk show ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
''. The song was sent to US
adult alternative
An adult is a human or other animal that has reached full growth. In human context, the term ''adult'' has meanings associated with social and legal concepts. In contrast to a " minor", a legal adult is a person who has attained the age of major ...
radio stations on 26 March 2012. In the United Kingdom, the single was released on 15 April 2012 after the release date had been brought forward from 30 April 2012.
The second single, "
Disconnected", was released on 27 April 2012 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
"
Sovereign Light Café" was released as the album's third single on 23 July 2012. The title is taken from, and the song influenced by, the seaside resort of
Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of arc ...
on the
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
coast not far from Battle where the band grew up. The café itself does exist on the west end of the town's seafront, opposite the offshore Sovereign Lighthouse, where it gets its name.
Track listing
;Deluxe Box Set
Packaged in a hardback A4 size coffee table book, the Deluxe Box Set includes:
*''Strangeland'' deluxe edition CD album.
*DVD featuring five live performances, album trailers and behind the scenes footage.
*The 20+ page book features exclusive photos from the making of the album, taken by Alex Lake.
"Myth" was released as the B-side to "Silenced by the Night", as well as on the Japanese and US iTunes editions of the album.
Personnel
;Recording
*Recorded at Sea Fog Studios in
East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East Su ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, and at
RAK Studios and
Air Lyndhurst Hall in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England
*Mixed at Miloco The Engine Room, London, England
*Mastered at Gateway Mastering,
Portland, Maine
Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropol ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
;Personnel
*
Keane – songwriting, instrumentation
*
Dan Grech-Marguerat
Daniel James Grech-Marguerat, also known as Dan Grech, (born 11 July 1981 in Bedford), is an English / Maltese recording engineer, record producer and mixer. His production style pulls together a blend of alternative and pop genres. He is recogn ...
– producer, engineer, mixer
*Liam Burn - engineer
*Tom Hough – engineer
*Will Fenlon - engineer
*Alfie Grant - assistant engineer
*Duncan Fuller – assistant mixer
*Dave Fridmann – additional programming
("Sovereign Light Café" and "On the Road")
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strangeland
2012 albums
Island Records albums
Keane (band) albums
Albums recorded at AIR Studios