Under the Iron Sea

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Under the Iron Sea
Studio album by Keane
Released	June 12, 2006
Recorded	April - August 2005 at Helioscentric Studios, Rye, East Sussex October 2005 - February 2006 at The Magic Shop, NYC
Genre	Piano rock Alternative rock
Length	50:30
Label	Island
Producer(s)	Andy Green Keane
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link musicOMH.com link Pitchfork (4.1/10) link Q (#240, July 2006, p. 108) Rolling Stone link
Keane chronology
Live Recordings 2004 (2005)	Under the Iron Sea (2006)	Keane Live 06 (2006)
Alternate cover
Cover for release with UK bonus DVD

Under the Iron Sea is the sophomore studio album by English piano rock band Keane, released in 2006. During its first week on sale in the UK, the album went to #1, selling 222,297 copies according to figures from the Official Chart Company. In the United States, the album came in at a respectable #4 on the Billboard 200, selling 75,702 units in its first week. As of January 22, the album had sold above 2,200,000 copies worldwide.

The band describes Under the Iron Sea as a progression from Hopes and Fears with electronic influences, describing the record as a "sinister fairytale-world-gone-wrong".^[1]

Contents 1 Album history and information 2 Release 3 Musical evolution 4 Singles 5 Track listing 5.1 UK release 5.2 International release 5.3 Bonus DVD 5.3.1 Videos 5.3.2 Works in progress 6 Track information 7 Personnel 8 Chart performances 9 General charts 10 See also 11 Notes 12 External links

[edit] Album history and information

After the release of their debut album, Hopes and Fears, Keane embarked upon a world tour that reached virtually all Europe and North America and which culminated on October 2005. As seen on Strangers, the band had been having trouble since the middle of 2004, shortly after the release of the debut. The suggestion "Hamburg Song" is about the bad-turned relationship between singer Tom Chaplin and pianist Tim Rice-Oxley - composed circa August 2004 - develops the focus of the conflict. During the tour, Rice-Oxley kept composing new songs that would later appear in future releases such as B-sides "Let It Slide" and "Thin Air". According to Chaplin, Rice-Oxley had composed at least 50 new tracks as of April 2006.

The name of the album is based on a lyric appearing on the track, "Crystal Ball" which reads "I've lost my heart, I buried it too deep, under the Iron Sea". It also shares title with the eighth track and Keane's first instrumental, "The Iron Sea". The "Iron Sea" is the metaphoric name for the group's (especially Rice-Oxley's) preoccupations about their uncertain future and the sudden fame they were having.

The album's title was announced by a handwritten note, signed by the entire band, reading:

“

Hello everyone, we just wanted to let you know that our new album is called "under the iron sea" and will be out on June 12th. Tom Tim Rich

”

"Nothing in My Way" (previously known as "Nothing in Your Way"), "Try Again" and "Hamburg Song" debuted between late 2004 and 2005 during the Hopes and Fears Tour. The two latter made their first appearance on Strangers, still on demo version while the first only appeared until the album's release. By the other hand, "Is It Any Wonder?", "Atlantic" and "Crystal Ball" (the three first singles) were premiered at a secret gig in London on April 5.

Compared with the previous releases by Keane during the Hopes and Fears era, are notably the typeface and style of cover art changes. Sanna Annukka, an artist from Brighton had designed the cover art for all Keane releases since March 2006, when the album's cover art was developed (on March 14). The typeface also changed from the "Cochin" typeface used on the 2004 and 2005 releases. The newer font was specially designed for Keane but no specific name was given apart from the "UTIS" fan-name.

[edit] Release

The first pre-release before the album was "Atlantic", which was issued as a download-only music video single on April 25, featuring a specially extended version of the song incorporating the outro from album track "The Iron Sea". Irvine Welsh, author of the novel Trainspotting, directed the video, which was filmed in black and white on a remote Sussex beach, and did not feature the band. "Is It Any Wonder?" followed as the first single proper, out May 29. Its video was directed by Kevin Godley, best known for his work on music videos for The Police and Duran Duran in the mid-1980s.

The record was released June 12, 2006 internationally. However, the album was accidentally put on sale for a few hours on June 2, 2006 by Apple Computer's Belgian iTunes Music Store, and while this was widely publicised as a leak of the album, no one on the band's messageboard was able to buy it in this time frame. A US edition of the album eventually leaked in its entirety to file-sharing networks on June 5, 2006.

There was also a bonus DVD with a book-shaped cover representing a fairy-tale story, with drawings on the inner pages.

[edit] Musical evolution

This album marked the transition from purely piano-driven Hopes and Fears to more progressive, sophisticated music without using guitars again. Basically, all songs on the album and b-sides from its singles use these sounds. As seen on Strangers, Rice-Oxley creates these sounds using the distortion pedals and keyboards connected to the CP70 piano. The sound can be recreated by distorting the piano sound and combined with distorted gothic chorus effect on a digital piano.

Perhaps one of the most notable changes on Under the Iron Sea is the effect pedals-created effects on several songs on the album, most notably "Is It Any Wonder?" The b-sides for single releases such as "Nothing in My Way" and "Is It Any Wonder?" are influenced primarily by electronic music, suggesting that the band keeps experimenting with their music and testing new instruments.

[edit] Singles

For accurate chart positions for each single, visit Keane discography.

Single	Cover	Peak position	Release date
"Atlantic"		#35*	April 25, 2006
"Is It Any Wonder?"		#3	May 29, 2006
"Crystal Ball"		#20	August 21, 2006
"Nothing in My Way"		#19	October 30, 2006
"Try Again"†		#81	January 12, 2007
"A Bad Dream"		#23	January 22, 2007

* Not physical release. From the UK Download Chart.

† Only limited release in Germany.

[edit] Track listing

[edit] UK release

All tracks written by Tim Rice-Oxley, Tom Chaplin, and Richard Hughes.

1. "Atlantic" – 4:13
2. "Is It Any Wonder?" – 3:01
3. "Nothing in My Way" – 4:00
4. "Leaving So Soon?" – 3:58
5. "A Bad Dream" – 5:04
6. "Hamburg Song" – 4:37
7. "Put It Behind You" – 3:36
8. "The Iron Sea" – 2:57
9. "Crystal Ball" – 3:53
10. "Try Again" – 4:27
11. "Broken Toy" – 6:07
12. "The Frog Prince" – 4:22

[edit] International release

1. "Atlantic" – 4:13
2. "Is It Any Wonder?" – 3:01
3. "Nothing In My Way" – 4:00
4. "Leaving So Soon?" – 3:58
5. "A Bad Dream" – 5:04
6. "Hamburg Song" – 4:37
7. "Put It Behind You" + "The Iron Sea" – 6:33
8. "Crystal Ball" – 3:53
9. "Try Again" – 4:27
10. "Broken Toy" – 6:07
11. "The Frog Prince" – 4:22

[edit] Bonus DVD

[edit] Videos

1. Recording Under the Iron Sea – 23:55
2. Short Film Set to an Extended Version of Atlantic – 6:01
3. Is It Any Wonder? (Video) – 3:01
4. Making the Is It Any Wonder? Video – 7:50

[edit] Works in progress

1. "Atlantic" (Demo January 29, 2005) – 4:15
2. "Is It Any Wonder?" (Demo March 31, 2005) – 2:58
3. "Nothing in Your Way" (Live From Aragon Theater, Chicago May 19, 2005) – 4:10
4. "Leaving So Soon?" (Demo October 29, 2005)
5. "A Bad Dream" (Demo July 7, 2005)
6. "Hamburg Song" (Live From Aragon Theater, Chicago May 19, 2005)
7. "Put It Behind You" (Demo January 9, 2005)
8. "The Iron Sea" (Helioscentric Recording Session April 9, 2005)
9. "Crystal Ball" (Demo July 7, 2005)
10. "Try Again" (Live From Aragon Theater, Chicago May 19, 2005)
11. "Broken Toy" (Demo August 30, 2005) – 5:39
12. "The Frog Prince" (Demo July 7, 2005) – 3:44

[edit] Track information

"Atlantic"

Main article: Atlantic (song)

"Atlantic" was the first single off the album, only a download video. It charted at number 35.

"Is It Any Wonder?"

Main article: Is It Any Wonder?

"Is It Any Wonder" is the only Keane song completely composed using distortion piano effects pedals.

"Nothing In My Way"

Main article: Nothing In My Way

The song was be released as the fourth single of the album. It was previously called "Nothing In Your Way".

"Leaving So Soon?"

"Leaving So Soon?" was the last song composed for the album, in 2005. The song is considered as a fan favourite and it remains as the Keane song with the highest tempo ever released (144). Written by Rice-Oxley, it has been rumoured that the lyrics are aimed at Tom after the band had an argument.

“

It's a defense of the three of us in the band

”

"A Bad Dream"

Main article: A Bad Dream

This song was released as the last single from the album on early 2007.

"Hamburg Song"

"Hamburg Song" is the only organ-voice Keane song to date. The song talks about Rice-Oxley troubles with Tom Chaplin and how he feels. The song was premiered on October 20, 2004 as a demo. The final version was slowed down and the organ sound changed a little. It doesn't feature drums but a few ride crashes on the outro.

"Put It Behind You"

Composed in mid 2004 because of Richard's break-up with his girlfriend. The song was first mentioned on Strangers by Rice-Oxley. A demo version of this song is included on the Under the Iron Sea DVD. During live performances of this song, the three members of the band sing on the main chorus, contrary to the album version, in which Hughes doesn't sing.

"The Iron Sea"

It appears as a demo on Strangers, with Tim playing it at the Helioscentric Studios. "The Iron Sea" was composed in 2004 by him. On the UK version, "The Iron Sea" is the eight track but in the International version is a hidden song after "Put It Behind You". The outro was also used on the single version of "Atlantic". The place where the track title should be on the CD tracklist is marked as a change in the font colour (from dark blue to royal blue).

“

It's the key track of the record

”

"Crystal Ball"

Main article: Crystal Ball (song)

This song was the third single released, charting at number 20.

"Try Again"

Main article: Try Again (Keane song)

The song is currently being released only in Germany as the fifth single from the album, on a 3 CDs maxi-single format.

"Broken Toy"

This is the longest song recorded by Keane on any of their releases, at 6:07 minutes in length (the longest song recorded is the rare track "The Happy Soldier" at 7:43). The song has split opinion amongst the fanbase, due to the fact it is a marked stylistic departure from previous Keane songs. However because of this, it is also viewed as possibly the best indicator yet as to which direction the band may take on their third album.^[2]

"The Frog Prince"

Main article: The Frog Prince (song)

The closing track is a song about Johnny Borrell from Razorlight.

[edit] Personnel

• Tim Rice-Oxley – bass, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, composition, backing vocals
• Tom Chaplin – organ, vocals, distortion piano, piano (on "Broken Toy")
• Richard Hughes – drumming and percussions
• Andy Green – programming and recording

[edit] Chart performances

• United Kingdom – 2x Platinum, Sales: 797,000+
• United States – Sales: 280,000
• Worldwide – Sales: 2,474,000

[edit] General charts

Country	Peak position	Sales	Certification
United Kingdom	#1	790,000+	2x Platinum
United Kingdom (iTunes)	#1	N/A	N/A
Ireland	#1	10,000	Platinum
The Netherlands	#1	35,000	Gold
Switzerland	#2	15,000	Gold
Argentina	#3	N/A	N/A
Belgium	#3	N/A	N/A
Germany	#3	N/A	N/A
Mexico	#3	N/A	N/A
Norway	#3	N/A	N/A
Portugal	#3	N/A	N/A
Spain	#3	N/A	N/A
Austria	#4	N/A	N/A
Sweden	#4	N/A	N/A
United States	#4	280,000	N/A
Denmark	#5	N/A	N/A
New Zealand	#5	N/A	N/A
Canada	#7	N/A	N/A
Finland	#8	N/A	N/A
France	#8	61,200	N/A
Italy	#10	N/A	N/A
Australia	#16	N/A	N/A
Hungary	#21	N/A	N/A
Poland	#69	N/A	N/A
Colombia	#90[3]	5,000+	N/A

[edit] See also

• List of songs by Keane.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ MySpace: Keane. Retrieved on Error: invalid time.
2. ^ http://www.keane.at/staring/utis-reviews.htm
3. ^ Colombian Albums Chart. Retrieved on February 5, 2007.

[edit] External links

• Official site of the band
• Information about the album from Keaneshaped

Keane
Tim Rice-Oxley | Tom Chaplin | Richard Hughes
Adam Tudhope | Dominic Scott | Andy Green | Alex Lake | Ed Roe
Discography
Studio albums: Hopes and Fears | Under the Iron Sea
Lives and EPs: Live Recordings 2004 | Keane Live 06 | Live from London
Singles: "Call Me What You Like" | "Wolf at the Door" | "Everybody’s Changing (Part 1)" | "This Is the Last Time (Part 1)" | "Somewhere Only We Know" | "Everybody’s Changing (Part 2)" | "Bedshaped" | "This Is the Last Time (Part 2)"| "We Might As Well Be Strangers" | "The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore" | "Bend and Break" | "Atlantic" | "Is It Any Wonder?" | "Crystal Ball" | "Nothing in My Way" | "Try Again" | "A Bad Dream"
DVDs: Hopes and Fears DVD | Strangers | Under the Iron Sea DVD
Tours: Hopes and Fears Tour | Under the Iron Sea Tour
Other: List of songs by Keane
Related articles
Piano rock | Battle, East Sussex | Rye, East Sussex | War Child (charity) | Help - a Day in the Life
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