I’m not a huge music buff, but if I’m going to actually listen to the radio, it’s usually something that’s between hip hop and rock. For example, Sara Bareilles “Love Song” or “It’s Not My Time” by Three Doors Down – contemporary, upbeat music.

While listening to the band Keane’s latest album “Perfect Symmetry,” the thought that kept popping into my head was, “I’m listening to a throwback album.”

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy Tommy Tutone’s “867-JENNY” as much as the next person – but music has changed drastically since then, and attempts to “bring it back” are rarely attempted correctly.

At worst, many of the songs in “Perfect Symmetry” have the awkward retro/rock sound of the 80s; at best, those who enjoy that kind of music and Keane, should have a field day.

For instance, the first few notes of “The Lovers are Losing,” I half-expected Cyndi Lauper to burst into a performance of “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” Eventually, the song decelerated to a pace that parallels the overly-slow “Sam’s Town” by the Killers.

And that’s what happens throughout the whole album, where you aren’t quite sure whether Keane were attempting their own sound or trying to imitate another decade. Either way, they failed on both attempts, causing a confusing mixture of a few fairly good pieces and some rather boring ones.

The one that I liked the best was “Again and Again,” a fast-paced, closer to this decade song that you might jam to in the car. However, it is almost too easy to miss while listening to the album, partly from its unfortunate position of being smack-dab in the middle of the album, and partly for its short length (under four minutes).

Its lyrics are hardly exceptional as well, with most of them featuring the cliché themes of love and how hard life is. “Perfect Symmetry” is so anticlimactic and slow that you wonder why this was chosen as the album’s title song. The anti-war ballad “Playing Along” fails to make an impression amongst the hundred different peace songs filling up the radio nowadays.

This tied up with the album’s slow-paced, 80s parallel, made me so bored that by the time it was finished I realized I hadn’t heard anything of the last half.

I’ll admit that until now I had never heard any of Keane’s music, so I can’t compare it to their earlier albums. If it’s anything like this one, fans are sure to be thrilled or at least satisfied. If not, they might want to borrow before buying.

Kyrie Eberhart can be reached at [email protected].