Perfect Symmetry (Keane album)

Perfect Symmetry is the third studio album by English rock band Keane, released on 13 October 2008 in the United Kingdom.^[11]

Perfect Symmetry
Studio album by Keane
Released	13 October 2008
Recorded	2008
Studio	Teldex (Berlin) Studio de la Grande Armée (Paris) Olympic (London) The Barn (London)
Genre	Pop rock alternative rock progressive pop synth-pop
Length	50:43
Label	Island
Producer	Keane Jon Brion (track 4) Stuart Price (tracks 7 and 10)
Keane chronology
Live 06 (2006) Perfect Symmetry (2008) Night Train (2010)
Singles from Perfect Symmetry
"Spiralling" Released: 4 August 2008 "The Lovers Are Losing" Released: 20 October 2008 "Perfect Symmetry" Released: 29 December 2008[1] "Better Than This" Released: 16 March 2009

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	64/100[2]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[4]
The Guardian	[4]
musicOMH	[5]
NME	2/10[6]
PopMatters	6/10[7]
Q	[8]
Rolling Stone	[8]
Spin	7/10[9]
Uncut	[10]

Cover

The cover for the album was revealed on 5 September. Tim Rice-Oxley explained that the imagery of the band is photographs of bigger-than-life-size sculptures of the band members, made by Korean artist Osang Gwon. It was implied that these sculptures would form the basis of the album's image and promotion up to the date of release.^[12]

Perfect Symmetry World Tour

The Perfect Symmetry World Tour started on 29 September 2008 and finished on 29 October 2009, with 121 shows.^{[citation needed]} During the Perfect Symmetry album release week, the band did some free shows in the UK.^{[citation needed]}

Critical reception

The album received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. On the aggregate website Metacritic, it has a score of 64/100, indicating "generally positive reviews". Spin gave the album 7/10 and praised the band for expanding their musical palette.^[13] Slant gave the album a lukewarm review and ultimately considered it a downgrade from the band's two previous albums.^[14]

NME heavily panned the album, giving it a 1/5 and negatively comparing it to British new rave band Klaxons.^[15]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Keane.

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Spiralling"	Keane	4:19
2.	"The Lovers Are Losing"	Keane	5:04
3.	"Better Than This"	Keane	4:03
4.	"You Haven't Told Me Anything"	Keane, Jon Brion^	3:47
5.	"Perfect Symmetry"	Keane	5:12
6.	"You Don't See Me"	Keane	4:03
7.	"Again and Again"	Keane, Stuart Price*	3:50
8.	"Playing Along"	Keane	5:35
9.	"Pretend That You're Alone"	Keane	3:47
10.	"Black Burning Heart"	Keane, Stuart Price*	5:23
11.	"Love Is the End"	Keane	5:37
Total length:			50:43

iTunes Store edition additional tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Time to Go"	3:50
13.	"My Shadow" (pre-order bonus track)	4:52

Japan edition additional tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"My Shadow"	4:49
13.	"Time to Go"	3:50
14.	"The Lovers Are Losing" (CSS remix)	4:35
15.	"Spiralling" (Diplo vs. Keane "Mad Spirals Mix")	5:22
16.	"Perfect Symmetry" (Frankmusik remix)	4:56

Notes

(^) denotes additional production
(*) denotes co-producer

Bonus DVD

1. Making of Perfect Symmetry documentary
2. Track by track commentary
3. "Spiralling" (live rehearsal)
4. "Spiralling" (demo)
5. "The Lovers Are Losing" (demo)
6. "Better Than This" (demo)
7. "You Haven't Told Me Anything" (demo)
8. "Perfect Symmetry" (demo)
9. "You Don't See Me" (demo)
10. "Again and Again" (demo)
11. "Playing Along" (demo)
12. "Pretend That You're Alone" (demo)
13. "Black Burning Heart" (demo)
14. "Love Is the End" (demo)

In popular culture

The album's eleventh song "Love Is the End" was featured on the 18th episode from the sixth season of the series One Tree Hill.^[16]

Personnel

Keane Tom Chaplin – vocals, guitar Tim Rice-Oxley – piano, keyboards, guitar, percussion, synthesizers, composition, backing vocals Richard Hughes – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional personnel Jesse Quin – bass, guitar (on "Black Burning Heart"), percussion, backing vocals Stephen Hussey – violin (on "Love Is the End") Chris Fish – cello (on "Love Is the End") Jo Silverston; Ian Harris – musical saw (on "Love Is the End") Jim Hunt – saxophone (on "Pretend That You're Alone") Anaël Train – French vocal (on "Black Burning Heart") Jake Davies – engineering Mark "Spike" Stent – mixing and additional production Stuart Price – co-production (for "Again and Again" and "Black Burning Heart") Jon Brion – additional production (for "You Haven't Told Me Anything") Scott Johnson – on Studio Tech Stephen Marcussen – mastering Beth Louise Warren – band assistance and recording co-ordinator Osang Gwon – sculptures for booklet Rob Chenery at Tourist – design and art direction Shamil Tanna – photography Adam Tudhope – managing

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2008) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 33 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 22 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 10 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 7 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[21] 7 Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[22] 26 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 3 French Albums (SNEP)[24] 42 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 10 Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 4 Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 32 Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[28] 9 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[29] 17 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[30] 7 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[31] 5 Scottish Albums (OCC)[32] 3 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[33] 12 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[34] 18 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 6 UK Albums (OCC)[36] 1 US Billboard 200[37] 7 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[38] 4

Year-end charts Chart (2008) Position Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[39] 66 UK Albums (OCC)[40] 49 Chart (2009) Position UK Albums (OCC)[41] 175

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Ireland (IRMA)[42]	Gold	7,500^
United Kingdom (BPI)[43]	Platinum	300,000^
United States	—	135,000[44]
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

• List of songs by Keane