RECORDINGS : Quick Spins

Keane has Coldplay down cold, but the group also goes a little Joe Jacksony, and then Beatlesque on its latest disc, "Under the Iron Sea." (By Joe Mcgorty)

UNDER THE IRON SEA

Keane

Jack White's new outfit, the Raconteurs, is catching unwarranted flak in some quarters for nicking a riff from Joe Jackson's "Is She Really Going Out With Him?," but it's really the British pop-rockers in Keane who owe the most to New Wave's erstwhile angry young twerp -- at least conceptually.

Downplaying guitars in favor of piano and lacing baroque melodies through lush, nearly orchestral arrangements, Keane's new "Under the Iron Sea" recalls Jackson's hit-laden "Night and Day" period. But where Jackson was shooting for Gershwinlike pop classicism with his piano-based song cycle, Keane has a more contemporary antecedent: These guys could be stunt doubles for Coldplay.

Not that there's anything wrong with that. In fact, on the vaguely psychedelic "Broken Toy" and the Beatles-y "A Bad Dream," Keane improves on the blueprint, wringing real emotion from simple chord changes without being annoyingly reflexive. "Hamburg Song" is a keeper, too, a ditty powered mainly by accordion and a melody so fragile it might evaporate on contact with your ear buds.

Elsewhere, "Crystal Ball" and "Is It Any Wonder?" are sophisticated rockers, Bic flickers more indebted to U2 than Coldplay that, not coincidentally, provide Keane front man Tom Chaplin a chance to showcase his impressive set of pipes.

On lesser numbers -- including the disc's meandering opener, "Atlantic" -- Keane follows drama-drenched verses with billowy, what's-the-point choruses, a bad habit picked up, one suspects, from Chris Martin & Co.

The remedy? That's easy: heavy doses of Joe Jackson's early skinny-tie classics. Worked wonders for the Raconteurs, after all.

DOWNLOAD THESE: "Broken Toy," "A Bad Dream," "Hamburg Song"

-- Shannon Zimmerman

LOOSE

Nelly Furtado

Radio listeners who lost track of Nelly Furtado after her pop single "I'm Like a Bird" in 2000 might be surprised at the dance-y, beat-driven style of her latest, "Loose." But Furtado's change of gears isn't as jarring as it might seem, thanks in no small part to her pairing with hip-hop producer Timbaland.

Timbaland's signature sound pervades the album's first single, "Promiscuous," with its thumping rhythm and bleeping synths. In this duet, Furtado channels the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie: Her sultry vocals convey seduction that's more flirtatious than sleazy (think: "My Humps" without the inane lyrics). She and Timbaland hit another home run with the growling "Maneater," which recalls the cheerleader rhythms of Gwen Stefani's "Hollaback Girl" but with Furtado's gravelly sass.

Furtado excels at the fast-paced booty-shakers -- "No Hay Igual" is a Spanish dance track highly influenced by reggaeton (the fusion of hip-hop and reggae), while "Wait for You" captures a youthful energy without sounding juvenile. But Timbaland's magic can only go so far, and "Loose's" slower numbers bring Furtado's raw animalism to a screeching halt. The dreaminess of "Showtime" turns Furtado into a generic R&B crooner, while her feverish moans on "Say It Right" are overwhelmed by the song's fierce beats. Despite a few such shaky moments, the CD's driving energy makes Furtado's dance persona more convincing than calculated.

DOWNLOAD THESE: "Maneater," "No Hay Igual"

-- Catherine P. Lewis