Hopes and Fears

Plaintive pianos aside, Keane’s sound has as much in common with the mournful British synth-pop duos of the ’80s as it does fellow piano-led indie rockers like Coldplay. Their best songs—“This Is the Last Time,” “Bend & Break”—start quietly with a soft, introspective verse, in which Tim Rice-Oxley’s stately piano acts as a melancholy foil to Tom Chaplin’s worried tenor. When it all blossoms into an ecstatic, sky-bound chorus, it’s as if the sun has come out, rewarding doubt with blessed relief.