Keane

East Sussex-rooted piano-rock trio Keane had been tooling around as a pre-2000 covers band, and had seen a couple of original singles evaporate into the ether, before they broke through with the epic and gorgeous "Everybody's Changing" in late-2002, thanks to a promotional boost from Fierce Panda's Simon Williams (the man who had discovered Coldplay). Since then the sky has simply rolled back, unable to contain the soaring brilliance of frontman Tom Chaplin. Keane hooks up with turntablist DJ Shadow, in Next Steps.

After two #1 albums, Keane followed up with . . . a third #1 album, 2008's Perfect Symmetry, which marked a distinct and ambitious desire to tinker with the sound on which they laid their foundations: "Pretend That You're Alone" rolls along jauntily atop a wobbly, funky bassline. DJ Shadow adds his magic to the fundamental loveliness of "We Might As Well Be Strangers" and — just for kicks — there's a characteristically polished version of the Cult's "She Sells Sanctuary".

If Coldplay knocked down the door for contemporary piano-rockers, Keane saw the gap and went for it with a vengeance, summoning up a superb blend of emotion, sensitivity and intensity that propelled the three-piece onto U2 support slots within two short years of signing to Island Records in 2003. "Everybody's Changing" was the track that got them noticed, and it retains its magnificence after many a play, while songs like "Crystal Ball" from 2006's Under the Iron Sea confirm they belong in any stadium, in any country. Tom Chaplin's vocals truly are a class apart (Chris Martin should be jealous), and even though Keane (sensibly) shed its first skin as a college covers band, a version of Elton John's "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" deserves its place here.