Keane

Rock/pop

Cherub-faced Tom Chaplin wears his heart—and his soul, and his every last hope and fear—on his sleeve. He tearfully tears it up on every track of his East Sussex band's first full-length, Hopes and Fears (Interscope). Since Keane abandoned its guitarist and its cover band ways (not surprisingly, they did Oasis, Beatles and U2), the drums-piano-vocals formula has been working out just fine, thanks. It doesn't get much better than the mournful (but catchy!) single, "Somewhere Only We Know," a (lyrically trite) ode to private longing and memory. Comparisons to Coldplay are fair but easy. Listen carefully, and the differences emerge. For instance, does Chris Martin cry falsetto in your ear about love and loss and oh, forget it. The album's addictively listenable, dammit, and because it sounds like a diary of a love gone horribly wrong, it's the aural equivalent of a car wreck. You get the emo with all of the drama and none of the pretension. The band's become painfully aware of their adorable factor (see their recent VH1 spot), but hopefully by the time they play the TLA, the saturation point will still be whole weeks away!

Mon., Sept. 27, 8 p.m., $15, with The French Kicks, The TLA, 334 South St., 215-922-1011.

—Lori Hill

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