Review Summary: Its intent is decidedly bold, but sometimes overshoots its bounds.
Spending their early career straddling the line between sentimentality and ferocity, Pianos Become the Teeth has always dabbled with sonic ideas, intertwining post rock melodies with screamo fundamentals as it has searched for its defining sound. Pianos has never been the most original band but the execution was clearly there, with their The Lack Long After marrying the two spectrums seamlessly and effectively. That album’s closer 'I’ll Get By' succinctly hinted at other potential avenues to be explored, avenues embraced on their latest offering, Keep You.
Stripping away the screams and opting instead for a brittle, clean delivery, Pianos throws quite the curveball. It’s emotionally dense alternative rock, rife with the constricting song structures and calculated dumbing-down that come with the genre. While you couldn’t describe their music as run of the mill before, this rule set unfortunately proves to be a particular hurdle as Pianos struggles to decide which ideas to inherit and which to leave by the wayside. Opener 'Ripple Water Shine' flounders under the weight of an overly repetitive chorus that blends harshly with the rest of the song, the band never differentiating one part from the rest and resulting in a ponderously monotone affair. Conversely, 'Repine' uses the genre’s strength to its advantage, accompanying the soaring refrain of “your wick won’t burn away” with a crescendo of a climax that would make There Will Be Fireworks proud.
It’s in these post-rock moments that Pianos’ songwriting ability still shines brightest, especially when it allows the sounds to ignore any restrictions. The momentum built on 'Old Jaw' explodes outward in the bridge, and it is the only moment that really echoes Pianos’ past. The vocals strain and the guitars roar, and it sounds momentous. Yet the band reins this in elsewhere, oscillating between sorta-disinterested and kinda-upset. Keep You’s production follows suit, placing the guitar and drums in a tight box, muted and held tight. While dulling any too-sharp edges it dulls the band’s personality as well. The result is a give and take, with certain moments thriving in this new approach while others crumble without the room to breathe.
Keep You is a daring record, but it’s not adventurous enough to separate itself from the pack. Pianos strove to differentiate themselves from the past and in the effort forgot to bring enough of its personality along for the ride. 'The Queen' and 'Lesions' rise to the occasion and unwind under the weight of the catharsis, yet when those same restraints are applied to 'Traces' and 'April', the songs suffocate. As a whole the leap works, allowing the band to reinvent itself, but Keep You isn’t perfect. Its intent is decidedly bold, but sometimes overshoots its bounds.
