The poor man’s Keane or the new Coldplay? The British media have once again been fighting over the label marker in a bid to box in Thirteen Senses. On first listen the comparisons are immediate. The choir-like vocals of Keane and the strong thrusts of melody a la Travis dominate the band’s debut album. However, it’s the comparisons to Chris Martin and co that are most apposite.
Like A Rush Of Blood To The Head, this is an album which grows in ambition as it progresses. ‘Into The Fire’ is a safe opener, its piano intro gradually filling out into a gushing melody. A song about taking chances, it takes none. Like ‘Thru The Glass’, it’s a record company pleaser awash in radio friendly dreamy pop. With the obligation to provide singles out of the way, the song structures become noticeably more experimental with ‘Do No Wrong’ a marvellous widescreen epic.
Make no mistake, Thirteen Senses are no Radiohead, and the combination of piano, guitars, drums and vocals is a fixed point throughout. It’s through subtle shifts and in taking the less obvious creative path that Thirteen Senses experiment in a way that Coldplay have hall marked. Endearing little hooks are in abundance and most pertinent on ‘Saving’, which swells through three different levels over the course of its five minutes.
The lynchpin of the album is ‘History’. Like ‘Politik’ it builds over piano and swirling guitar lines. Will South’s haunting vocal is moody and edgy and fits perfectly alongside some often eerie backing. You can hear it forcing itself out to fill stadiums across the globe.
Ambitious and confident, the new Radiohead tag might even be bestowed upon them by album number two.