I support Manchester City, and like weekends and whisky. Please drop in and recommend a funny film f...
I support Manchester City, and like weekends and whisky. Please drop in and recommend a funny film for me to watch. Thanks.
Member since:27.01.2005
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Lots of promising new bands have fallen at the "difficult second album" hurdle in recent years - Starsailor, The Strokes, Stone Roses to name three (actually can't think of anymore, but there are loads everyone says) - so when Keane release this follow up to the much-loved Hopes and Fears, many listeners will be expecting the worst.
Keane are ok. Their first album established them at the top of the second tier of pop-rockers - just beneath the stadium filling U2, Radiohead and Coldplay, but comfortably ahead of the rest. And if this second album is anything to go by, then that is exactly where they will stay.
The obvious outstanding worldwide smash hit that was Somewhere Only We Know on the first album is missing here, but UTIS makes up for this with a far more sophisticated lyrical and musical approach as evidenced in Try Again.
The common theme that runs through the album is the need to make difficult decisions and this is refected in the styles of music as well as the lyrical content. Keane have deserted the surefire hit formula which won them so much praise in 2004 and come up with an album that covers a huge range of styles and moods. Whereas Hopes and Fears tended to feel a bit samey, every song on Under The Sea contributes something different.
Put It Behind You and Leaving So Soon, for example, present an entirely new sound for the band, much rockier, and the perfect answer to critics who accuse Keane of being too soft or "wet". The latter is the outstanding song on the album which is high praise indeed because all the songs are good in one way or another. It should definitely be a single.
I would definitely recommend the new album because it is a very solid and effective work. The only trouble with it is that there is little or no progress from Hopes and Fears.
When Keane first appeared on the scene they were labelled my some music critics as a "poor man's Coldplay" which was grossly unfair. Two years on and Coldplay have proven themselves to be almost impossibly boring. If Keane and Coldplay were in competition then there is little doubt that A Rush Of Blood To The Head is better than Hopes and Fears and UTIS put together.
I liked the album a lot better when I first heard it, but now i find it boring and am totally tired of it.
Still, it was good for a while.
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As its foreboding name might suggest, Under The Iron Sea finds Sussex balladeers Keane ... more
setting sail for somewhat darker waters. Prompted by their involvement in Live8 and Make Poverty History, continuing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, and personal s...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
As its foreboding name might suggest,Under The Iron Seafinds Sussex balladeers Keane ... more
setting sail for somewhat darker waters. Prompted by their involvement in Live8 and Make Poverty History, continuing conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan, and personal str...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Can be played over and over, songs never grow old Disadvantages: Slightly different sound to previous album if you're expecting lots of piano
Advantages: A few good tracks/ trying something different Disadvantages: Very slow/ lyrics
spoilt_little_br 03.08.2006 (03.08.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Under the Iron Sea - Keane
May 18th, 2006
(May 14th, 2007)
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