There are two schools of thought on Keane these days. One paints them as purveyors of epic widescreen pop while another has them as ‘bedwetters’ in the Coldplay mould. The jury on this is out so far – their debut Hope & Fears edged towards the former but borrowed heavily from the likes of Coldplay on the way. The jury’s deliberations are not assisted by the fact that Hopes & Fears was marketed so aggressively that radio stations are still playing ‘This is the Last Time’ two years on from its release. It’s a safe bet to suggest that when you heard that on the radio recently, you really wished it was the last time. 

The marketing bods are of course out in force once again for Under the Iron Sea, Keane’s second long player. There’s a lot of pretension around this time as well – apparently, the ‘underlying narratives…. touch on the dislocation of a generation powerless to change decisions that have been made on behalf of them’. Er, right. So, intellectual songs about global warming, politics and war then? Not quite. Essentially, the album touches on exceptionally strained relationships between lead singer Tom Chaplin and band lynchpin /songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley. What a strained relationship it’s been though, because all of a sudden Keane have gone more than a little dark. 

‘Atlantic’ opens proceedings with sinister toy town melodies, broody synths and doom laden drums, the whole thing feeling like a swamp of claustrophobia. Intriguing and different, it unveils the new ‘harder’ Keane, weighed down by relationships and the world in general. Even better is first single ‘Is It Any Wonder?’, built around a Fly era U2-esque ‘guitar’ riff mangled through Rice-Oxley’s piano. Catchy and immediate, the huge chorus defies you not to sing along. Lyrically though it remains dark and starts to point the band in the direction of the post millennial tension route ploughed by the likes of Radiohead – ‘”Sometimes I get the feeling that I’m stranded in the wrong time/where love is just a lyric in a children’s rhyme”.  

The title track continues in this vein, a broody instrumental which owes more than a debt to Hope of the States ‘The Black Amnesias’. Other than this though, musically the album isn’t a huge step away from Hopes and Fears, with songs like ‘Nothing in My Way’ and ‘Crystal Ball’ in the familiar widescreen pop mould. Having said that, the mournful ‘Hamburg Song’, the slow burning ‘A Bad Dream’ and the thoughtful ‘Broken Toy’ provide the album with darker counterpoints. Better still, they provide an insight into the breakdown of relationships within the band – “I look out for you/what good does it do?/I guess I’m just a record you’re tired of”, sings Chaplin in ‘Broken Toy’.  The lyrics are given further meaning as these are Rice Oxley’s, venting his frustrations about the singer and his behaviour.

Under the Iron Sea marks steady progress for Keane. A darker album that its predecessor, it retains the pop hooks that made them so successful while moving on. Best of all, the ‘warts and all’ approach to documenting their fractured relationships grounds the band and ensures that the public can empathise with them. Another step towards the crown of widescreen pop then, and another away from the ‘bedwetters’ tag. 

(4/5)

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