![]() ![]() 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 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 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 and leaping far out of their comfort zone", commenting that the album "finds them fairly back in the middle of the road". Chuck Campbell of the Knoxville News Sentinel stating that Strangeland features "songs are more complex, their messages more complicated and the sonic nuance saturated in emphatic shine", praising producer Dan Grech-Marguerat for "giving balance to the drama and letting melody and message envelop the listeners and carry them away." Sputnikmusic 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." ![]() At Metacritic, 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". Strangeland received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Critical reception Professional ratings Aggregate scores 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". He'd also done stuff with Radiohead and produced the second Howling Bells album, which I loved." Ĭompared 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. According to Rice-Oxley, the album is inspired by The Vaccines' 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. The producer said the band wanted to " back to the songwriting of their first two albums", while making an album that sounded "rich and simpler". In May 2011 the band met up with English producer Dan Grech-Marguerat, who according to Tim Rice-Oxley is "a massive Keane fan". Keane began working on demo tracks for Strangeland in 2010. Pianist Tim Rice-Oxley, on the album's themes" (But) it's a more hopeful record than it might sound!" Pretty much every song on the album is about that. The title track is about setting off in a certain path in life and thinking it's going to go one way, but finding out life's taken a detour. A daunting task, but, if history is any indication, one that is only a matter of time."It's a very emotional album. Though Strange Music has changed dramatically since the early days, one thing that remains is Travis and Tech’s vision for Strange Music’s global takeover. Built on the back of Tech N9ne and his 17 albums, 3 gold selling records, four Forbes list appearances and constant world touring, Strange Music is now the number one independent label in the world with a roster boasting 15 artists ranging in genres from rap to pop music. Fast forward nearly twenty years and the label has clearly moved up - from the basement to a multi-building complex housing two recording studios, a state of the art soundstage, screen printing shop, and offices hosting 40 plus employees all committed to sharing the Strange Music vision with the world. Based out of O’Guin’s basement, the two began fighting tooth and nail to share Tech N9ne’s undeniable talent with the world. In 2000, Kansas City rapper, Tech N9ne, connected with a local businessman, Travis O’Guin, to form Strange Music, drawing its name from one of Tech’s biggest influences, Jim Morrison. On “Welcome To Strangeland” Tech N9ne vehemently proclaims, “It goes Up.” More than just a catchy lyric, it describes not only how far Strange Music has come but where it’s headed. ![]()
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