Keane Album: “Under The Iron Sea”

Simple, energetic, and sonically impressive, Under the Iron Sea is the kind of album that hearkens back to an era where music wasn't about pretentiousness and style or about making money with a relentlessly commercial sound. Keane goes the opposite direction, making the album they wanted to make, full of elegantly simple but incredibly engaging songs and delivering a record better than 95% of the fluff on the market today. Simply stated, this is one for heavy rotation.

Keane's contemporary influences can be clearly heard on this record, with shades of U2, Radiohead, Manic Street Preachers, and Ben Folds Five heard on various tracks. While paying homage to those influences, Keane still manages to create a sound that is all their own. Tom Chaplin's vocals are emotional and ethereal, blending perfectly with Tim Rice-Oxley's elegant piano, and Rich Hughes does a fine job anchoring the tracks with his steady drumming. From the opening track Atlantic's potent piano melodies, which defies the traditional verse-chorus-verse song structure, to the energetic tracks Is It Any Wonder and Nothing In My Way, the record flows with an exciting and uplifting energy that has already made it #1 on the British album charts.

Crystal Ball with its beautiful chorus is probably the best track on the record, while A Bad Dream and Try Again are the kind of hopeful and anthemic songs Coldplay would kill to write themselves and that flow gorgeously. The album as a whole is a sonic gem, with layers of instruments that embellish and accentuate the simplicity of Chaplin's vocals and Rice-Exley's melodies. This record is light years better than anything U2 or Coldplay has done in recent years. Although some feel this album is darker thematically than Hopes and Fears, I find it exactly the opposite. Though containing lyrics of loss, loneliness and longing, these tracks are surrounded by beautiful and uplifting melodies. Under the Iron Sea is a less commercial album than Hopes and Fears; the tracks are more intricate and deeper on this record, and therefore it takes a bit longer to appreciate. After 2 weeks on heavy rotation, the depth of the CD continues to amaze.

Co-produced with Hopes and Fears' Andy Green, Under the Iron Sea demolishes the commonly held belief in the sophomore slump. This is the kind of album most bands wish they could deliver, full of fresh, intriguing, and resonating songs that stand up to multiple playings. On their website, Keane remarks they needed to make a record that was going to make them feel alive again. With Under the Iron Sea, Keane has made a record that makes us feel alive again. Brilliant work, and hands down one of the Top 5 records of the Year. Highly recommended.

A.G. Corwin

St Louis, MO

Keane's HOPES AND FEARS won the Best British Album at the Brits, and got them attention even in the US when they got nominated for Grammy's Best New Artist (not an easy feat for a British band). It isn't easy at all to follow up such massive success. And here coems Keane's sophomore effort - UNDER THE IRON SEA. But does it match up to HOPES AND FEARS? If you went head over heels for HOPES AND FEARS, then chances are you had been waiting impatiently for the release of this one and would have the CD spinning right now. What if you do not own HOPES AND FEARS, or did not like it (which I find a little shocking)?

UTIS is essentially a rock record, leaning towards alternative. The CD opens with "Atlantic", which features a killer beat (albeit sinister sounding) that sets the tone for the rest of the CD. About 2 minutes and a bit more into this song, the melody completely takes on a new route, switching from melancholic and dangerous to almost angelic and peaceful. This, in my opinion, is sheer brilliance. We could go deeper by trying to analyze what message Keane is giving (a light among darkness?) but that's better left aside for now.

First single "Is It Any Wonder?" comes next. Once again, great beats - and no - THAT is NOT guitar; it is 'distorted piano' - a completely new sound that Keane has invented. This song is ferocoius, it rages forward like a full-speed train - and that's good. We have not heard anything like this from Keane before, and I'm glad they are not sticking to ONE formula (the one that worked in HOPES AND FEARS).

One of my favourite songs on the CD, "Nothing In My Way" is very poetic, and the "addictivity level" is at its peak when the song breaks into the chorus. You'll find yourself chanting along to it in no time at all. I'm also very keen on "A Bad Dream", catchy chorus, good beats and all. I believe the song that most are crazy about is "Crystal Ball" and I'm not surprised at all. This was the first song that jumped out at me and grabbed my attention on first listen - and I still like it. Very singable, very likeable - think "This Is The Last Time" and "Bend And Break" from HOPES AND FEARS. Nevertheless, Keane has not completely abandoned its piano stylings on this record - "Hamburg Song" features complete piano without frills. Peaceful and mystifying.

Having said all that, occassionally I do miss tracks like "Bedshaped" from HOPES AND FEARS. It's not completely absent on UTIS, but very little traces of such songs are to be found. Based on this, UTIS is a solid record and a great listen, but it does not evoke the general feel and melancholy of HOPES AND FEARS. Rather, UTIS ends up sounding rather urgent, as if it were a message of warning, and is undeniably much darker than HOPES AND FEARS. You can tell that Keane have had no desire to match HOPES AND FEARS at all, but rather let their creativity and surroundings take them to a place where genuine music and lyrics are born. UTIS is a remarkably excellent effort. And did I mention the great artwork for the cover? (The cover actually folds out into different layers of what lies UNDER THE IRON SEA - very clever, in my opinion).

The verdict? You should buy UTIS. Great melodies, thoughtful lyrics, crisp voice, immaculate production. It's one of the best CDs to hit the shelves this year.

Liam F.

26 June 2006

This review is aimed at the reader who liked Keane's first album and who is reading these reviews because they just haven't heard much or about Keane's second one, UTIS.

That described me, about a year ago. I absolutely loved "Hopes and Fears," but wasn't sure how much staying power Keane could have within the confines of their instrumentation. Strangely, though the reviews here were mostly positive, they deterred me from buying UTIS. The general impression given by the reviews was that the second release was good, not as spectacular as the first, not as catchy, maybe a bit different due to its release during a period of conflicts within the band.

So I didn't buy UTIS. What a mistake. I only recently received it as a gift and now realize what I've been missing for oh these many months.

Is it as good as the first one? That's awfully lofty company - the first album was an instant classic, 11 good tracks, 6-7 of them *extremely* good, and the first five in a row on the album absolutely fantastic. Packed with the catchiest hooks we've heard in many a year.

But I may like the second album even more. There's a greater depth and cohesion to it, and there is certainly much more versatility in the sound. On some of the pieces you'll swear you're hearing guitar (The Edge's guitar, to be precise.)

But mostly, the second album has an emotional intensity to it that only "Somewhere Only We Know" matches on the first one. There are four tracks on it that truly blow me away: "Nothing In My Way," "Hamburg Song," "Crystal Ball," and "Try Again."

"Hamburg Song" and "Try Again" are both gorgeous ballads, sung beautifully by Chaplin. Don't listen to these songs if you are in a relationship that is falling apart; they'll kill you. Hell, I'm happily married, in my 40s, with family, and they set my mind back to tragic relationships of long ago. "Try Again" may be Chaplin's finest vocal performance on either album.

"Crystal Ball" is the generally considered most infectious tune on the record, but I find "Nothing in My Way" the most durable and haunting.

I've heard Keane compared to Coldplay, which I find ridiculous. Yes, singers in both bands sometimes have a breathy delivery, and the music is sometimes quietly powerful. But the similarities end there. We haven't heard any pop singer as accomplished as Chaplin for years, and certainly no other current pop band matches Keane's gift for melodic songwriting, not even close. The comparisons really degrade the unique quality of Keane's craftsmanship.

And craftsmanship really is what it is all about on this record - well, craftsmanship and therapy. Keane does the little things that turn good songs into great ones. "Crystal Ball" has an OK verse, a very fine chorus, but becomes a truly excellent song only because the bridge between the second and final choruses is so powerful (writing a decent and sufficiently distinct bridge must be one of the tougher challenges in pop songwriting). "Nothing in My Way" also leaps from good to great because of the way the second chorus is followed by an intense closing coda not heard at any previous point in the song.

The thoroughness of the craftsmanship means that there are truly great moments in the songs that otherwise would rank behind the best ones: "A Bad Dream" is a fine song, but the blend of Chaplin's voice with the synthesizers in the bridge creates a surprising dollop of momentary magic. "Leaving So Soon" knows that its biggest punch comes with Chaplin's falsetto in the chorus, so that chorus is postponed a ways into the song to be more climactic.

I understand that Rice-Oxley does most of the writing for Keane. I also understand that the band nearly dissolved during the making of this record. What a tragedy it would be if that happened; Chaplin's voice needs Rice-Oxley's music, and vice versa. Each of the two has an indispensable collaborator that they should work to retain as long as they can.

I can't say this record is better than the first one, but I find it grabs me even more tightly; there are no throwaways on this record, at least not for me. I find it more intense start to finish than "Hopes and Fears" (which, by contrast, delivers 5 amazing songs up front but has a few weaker ones just before the end.)

Best of all, it's a body of work wonderfully distinct from their first album, and it nourishes hopes that more greatness may yet be to come.

I have to admit that I thought Keane was "poor boy" Coldplay, but after buying this album I have concluded that I am stupid. This album is so unlike Coldplay. This is one of the few albums I own that I will actually listen to in its entirety. I was way off...

I first saw Keane on Saturday Night Live and the next day went and got Hopes and Fears, OH DELIGHTFUL CD! When I saw this CD was coming out I felt both anticipation that it COULD be even better, or it might be the sophomore slump many bands experience after having such wild success with their debut. I listened to it through the first time and thought, "pretty good", then the second, third, fourth and fifth time it got better and better and pulled me "under". I love this new CD. I have over 25000 songs in my itunes library from CDs etc... This one has gone right to the top of most listened to on my ipod. I cannot wait to see what the boys come out with next!