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Perfect Symmetry
by Keane

Keane reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 64 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.5 out of 10
based on 16 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 35 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

The third album for the British rock group was produced with Jon Brion and Stuart Price.

LABEL: Interscope
RELEASE DATE: 14 October 2008
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Rock, Alternative, Pop

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

83
Entertainment Weekly
As rock goes, Symmetry remains a relatively quiet riot, but in the context of the band itself, it's a welcome revelation.
Read Full Review
80
Dot Music
Perfect Symmetry is often an exhilarating and unexpected pop record from a band you'd have thought incapable of either, and there's something genuinely life-affirming about that.
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80
Q Magazine
It's one of the least boring records you'll hear this year. [Nov 2008, p.108]
80
Billboard
Perfect Symmetry bursts out of the gate with a suite of giddy, '80s-inflected Brit pop songs that, surprisingly, suit the band well.
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80
Boston Globe
It is a surprise and a thrill to hear that even as the band enters its "artsy" phase--expanding its instrumental palette to include mewling saws and clattering percussion--the songs remain uniformly excellent from stem to stern.
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70
Spin
On album three, Keane trick out their pretty piano melodies with tasty synths ('The Lovers Are Losing'), booming rap beats ('Spiralling'), and fuzzy new-wave guitars ('You Haven’t Told Me Anything').
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70
Rolling Stone
Keane still have a tendency to get mushy and melancholic when the ballads get big (check out the meaning- of-life musings on the synth-whipped title track), but even the mopiest moments leave you in good cheer.
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60
All Music Guide
The band's underlying strength remains Chaplin's ability to turn a melodic phrase with grace and dexterity, which fails to lose its vitality no matter the musical context, but Keane's willingness to take these left-hand turns deserves its own share of accolades.
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60
The Guardian
Often during Perfect Symmetry, listeners of a certain age might find themselves recalling Simple Minds or Tears for Fears. Whether that thought fills you with delight or revulsion rather determines the album's appeal.
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60
Uncut
It's ambitious, triumphantly executed stuff--melodically, lyrically, Tim Oxley-Rice is a vastly superior songsmith to Chris Martin--and will doubtless shortly be inescapable. But you can't shake the dispiriting feeling it might have all been expressly commissioned by Dave Cameron for the opening night of London 2012.
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60
musicOMH.com
While this isn't the daring brave leap forward that was whispered about when Spiralling was released, it will no doubt prove another multi-million seller for the trio from Battle.
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60
PopMatters
That means when Perfect Symmetry is at its best, you’ll think of a-ha, and when it’s at its worst...Go West, anyone? And yet, the more things change, the more they stay the same, and underneath it all, this is very much a Keane album.
Read Full Review
50
Slant Magazine
Unfortunately, Perfect Symmetry is an album characterized by its heavy-handedness, so while it sounds as though the band was aiming for Echo & the Bunnymen, they hit Duran Duran or Simple Minds instead, making for a brand new record that often sounds badly dated.
Read Full Review
50
Blender
Despite its boldness, Perfect Symmetry is as swollen with corny grandeur as a political convention, guided by the delusion that a pompous speech somehow becomes fun if it’s accompanied by a balloon drop.
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40
Mojo
The trio have bounced back from frontman Tim Rice-Oxley's surprise 2006 stinct in rehab by discovering the '80s. And not in a good way. [Nov 2008, p.108]
20
New Musical Express
Musically, they’ve ripped off swathes of things contemporary and popular to make them ‘hip’, but it just feels like some dodgy old guy at a bus stop telling you he digs Klaxons.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 35 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Isabel P. gave it a10:
I love it!! It's so unexpected, but still very Keane... I think they're evolving, doing different things and not staying in the old same melodies, still keeping their essence... Great album!! well done guys!!

Non J. gave it a9:
Filled with songs written with a new sense of excitement and incredible intensity. They are still the Keane we've come to love just with new moves and more experience.

Clark W. gave it a10:
I must admit... Keane continues to impress me. Although i still believe that their first album, "Hopes and Fears" is their best, i cant help but be impressed with their last 2 releases. Lead singer Tom Chaplin is absolutely brilliant. His ability to create incredible lyrics, is a talent that is really confined to a few bands like Radiohead. It is also incredible how smooth and flawless his voice is. Keane is a band that has stayed completely original... Even as times progress and music changes, they have been able to change their music, but not loose that "Keane" touch. This Album is a MUST! Listen to Track 10, "Black Burning Heart" and you will be sold.

Mike & Linnea gave it a10:
Fantastic. The sign of a truely great album is not to fully appreciate every track immediately. The depth of great albums comes from listening from start to finish, multiple times in a variety of settings. There are a number of great singles, but the further development of exceptional song crafting and gathering a "sonically" pure collection has been obtained. Looping and cavernous melodies coupled with a tasteful 80's feel creates a metallic yet velvet album. Balanced in Perfect Symmetry.

Mario A. gave it a10:
This album es amazing! you can see how the band are envolving in this new and fresh sound. I love it!

Carlie G. gave it a9:
"James"... they sound like "James" and that's a good thing. That's a very good thing.

Diego T. gave it an8:
Perfect melodies... Perfect vocals.. It´s still Keane. Love it.

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