Under the Iron Sea | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 12 June 2006 | |||
Recorded | August 2004 – February 2006 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Pop rock [1] | |||
Length | 50:30 | |||
Label | Island | |||
Producer |
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Keane chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from Under the Iron Sea | ||||
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Under the Iron Sea is the second studio album by the English rock band Keane,released on 12 June 2006. During its first week on sale in the UK,the album opened at number one,selling 222,297 copies according to figures from the Official Chart Company.[ citation needed ] In the United States,the album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200,selling 75,000 copies in its first week there. [2] Since its release,the album has sold over three million copies worldwide. [3]
The band describes Under the Iron Sea as a progression from Hopes and Fears ,with electronic influences,and as a "sinister fairytale-world-gone-wrong". [4]
This section needs additional citations for verification .(February 2023) |
After the release of their debut album, Hopes and Fears, Keane embarked upon a world tour, which reached virtually all Europe and North America and which concluded in October 2005. As seen on Strangers , the band had been having trouble since the middle of 2004, shortly after the release of the debut. "Hamburg Song", composed circa August 2004, deals with the strained relationship between singer Tom Chaplin and pianist Tim Rice-Oxley. During the tour, Rice-Oxley kept composing new songs that would later appear on future releases, such as the B-sides "Let It Slide" and "Thin Air". According to Chaplin, Rice-Oxley had composed at least 50 tracks as of April 2006.
The name of the album is based on a lyric in the track "Crystal Ball", which reads "I've lost my heart, I buried it too deep, under the Iron Sea". It also shares its title with the eighth track, "The Iron Sea", Keane's first instrumental piece. The "Iron Sea" is the metaphorical name for the group's (especially Rice-Oxley's) preoccupations about their uncertain future and the sudden fame they had to deal with.
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 latter two songs made their first appearance on Strangers, still in demo versions, while the first only appeared until the album's release. The first three singles, "Atlantic", "Is It Any Wonder?" and "Crystal Ball", were premiered at a secret gig in London on 5 April.
Notable changes from the previous releases by Keane during the Hopes and Fears era are the typeface and style of the cover art. Sanna Annukka, an artist from Brighton, designed the cover art for the album and its singles. The typeface changed from the "Cochin" typeface used on the 2004 and 2005 releases. The newer font was specially designed for Keane (but no specific name for the font was given apart from the "UTIS" fan-name).
The album opens with "Atlantic", the first single from the album. The track expresses fear of aging, set to Rice-Oxley's layers of electric piano and synthesizer strings. [5] It was featured in the TV series CSI: NY in the eighth episode of the third season, "Consequences". "Is It Any Wonder" is composed of pianos fed with distortion pedals and was written about the Iraq War."Nothing in My Way" was described as "catchy" and "gently lifting". [6] It is featured on the soundtrack for FIFA 07 .
"Leaving So Soon?" is considered a fan favourite and is the most uptempo song on the album at 144 BPM. "A Bad Dream" was described as an "enchanting tune" with density and drama. [7] The slowest song on the album "Hamburg Song" is about personal conflicts between Rice-Oxley and Chaplin and features solely piano and organ as its instrumentation, with drums being absent besides some light ride hits at the end. "Put It Behind You" was primarily written by drummer Richard Hughes in mid-2004 after breaking up with his girlfriend.
"The Iron Sea" is Keane's first instrumental track, followed by "Crystal Ball" which has been compared to "early electro U2" and featured Chaplin's "swooning chorus". [6] "Try Again", a downbeat track was noted for its "pristine sound and hushed majesty" and features Chaplin's distortion piano in the outro. [7] "Broken Toy", the longest songin Keane's discography is a jazz-influenced track in 9/8 time and has been compared to Radiohead's "Pyramid Song". [8] The closing track "The Frog Prince" was written about another musician who Rice-Oxley described as 'talented, but very arrogant'.
The first pre-release before the album was "Atlantic", which was issued as a download-only music video single on 25 April, 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 on 29 May. 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 on 12 June 2006 internationally. However, the album was accidentally put on sale for a few hours on 2 June 2006 by Apple Computer's Belgian iTunes Music Store. A US edition of the album eventually leaked in its entirety to file-sharing networks on 5 June 2006, and the Mexican edition was released early on 9 June.
The release was accompanied by a bonus DVD with a book-shaped cover representing a fairy-tale story, with drawings on the inner pages.
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 63/100 [9] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [10] |
The A.V. Club | B− [11] |
Entertainment Weekly | A− [12] |
The Guardian | [13] |
The Irish Times | [14] |
Mojo | [15] |
Pitchfork | 4.1/10 [16] |
Q | [17] |
Rolling Stone | [18] |
Spin | [19] |
Under the Iron Sea received generally favourable reviews from critics. Review aggregating website Metacritic reports a normalised score of 63/100, based on 24 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. [9]
In 2008, Under the Iron Sea was voted the 8th best British album of all time by a poll conducted by Q Magazine and HMV. [20]
All tracks are written by Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley and Richard Hughes
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Atlantic" | 4:13 |
2. | "Is It Any Wonder?" | 3:06 |
3. | "Nothing in My Way" | 4:00 |
4. | "Leaving So Soon?" | 3:59 |
5. | "A Bad Dream" | 5:06 |
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 |
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Atlantic" | 4:13 |
2. | "Is It Any Wonder?" | 3:06 |
3. | "Nothing in My Way" | 4:00 |
4. | "Leaving So Soon?" | 3:59 |
5. | "A Bad Dream" | 5:06 |
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 |
12. | "Let It Slide" (Japanese bonus track) | 4:12 |
Inserting the CD whilst on the band's website at the Wayback Machine (archived 12 June 2006) allows one to unlock exclusive content including:
Keane
| Additional personnel
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Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
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Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Denmark (IFPI Danmark) [53] | Gold | 20,000^ |
Germany (BVMI) [54] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
Ireland (IRMA) [55] | Platinum | 15,000^ |
Netherlands (NVPI) [56] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Portugal (AFP) [57] | Gold | 10,000^ |
Spain (PROMUSICAE) [58] | Gold | 40,000^ |
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [59] | Gold | 15,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [60] | 3× Platinum | 904,798 [61] |
United States (RIAA) [62] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Keane are an English alternative rock band from Battle, East Sussex, formed in 1995. The band comprises Tom Chaplin, Tim Rice-Oxley, Richard Hughes and Jesse Quin. Their original line-up included founder and guitarist Dominic Scott, who left in 2001.
Thomas Oliver Chaplin is an English musician, best known as the co-founder and lead singer of the British alternative rock band Keane.
Timothy James Rice-Oxley is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, backing vocalist and songwriter of the alternative rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin.
"This Is the Last Time" is a song performed and composed by British rock band Keane, released on 22 November 2004 as the fourth commercial single from their debut album, Hopes and Fears (2004). It was first released with Fierce Panda Records on 13 October 2003 and later in 2004 as a different version with Island Records. It was released as track two of the international version, but track nine on the British version. The single reached number 18 on the UK chart in November 2004.
"Nothing in My Way" is a song performed and composed by English alternative rock band Keane for their second studio album Under the Iron Sea (2006). The song was also released 30 October 2006 as the third commercial and fourth overall single from that album in the United Kingdom. After the French pop rock band Bubblies, the single's release is notable as being the first ever commercial music release in USB format, a special edition limited to 1,500 copies.
"Atlantic" is a song performed and composed by English alternative rock band Keane, released as the first single from their second studio album Under the Iron Sea, firstly as a download only music video and later as a 7" vinyl limited edition. The song was premiered at a secret gig in London on 5 April 2006.
"Everybody's Changing" is a song performed by English alternative rock band Keane. It was released as the second single from their debut studio album, Hopes and Fears (2004). After a single release on Fierce Panda in May 2003, which peaked at number 122 in the UK Singles Chart, it was re-released on Island on 3 May 2004 after the success of "Somewhere Only We Know" and reached number four. It is also used in the TV series, In Plain Sight and can also be heard in the final moments of One Tree Hill episode "Truth Doesn't Make a Noise" and Scrubs episode "My Day at the Races".
"Somewhere Only We Know" is a song composed and performed by English alternative rock band Keane, officially released as the first single from their debut album, Hopes and Fears (2004). The single peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart during its first week of sales, becoming the band's signature song and biggest hit single to date.
"The Frog Prince" is a song performed and composed by English alternative rock band Keane, released as the closing track on their second album, Under the Iron Sea. The song was composed in 2004 and first mentioned by Tim Rice-Oxley on the Strangers DVD. A demo version also features Rice-Oxley singing on the lead vocals.
"Crystal Ball" is a song performed and composed by English rock band Keane, featured on their second studio album, Under the Iron Sea (2006). The song was released on 21 August 2006 as the third single from the album. "Crystal Ball" peaked at number 20 on both the Dutch Singles Chart and the UK Singles Chart.
"A Bad Dream" is a song by English rock band Keane appearing as the fifth track on their second album, Under the Iron Sea. It was released on 22 January 2007 as the fifth and final single from the album. The song peaked at No. 23 in the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's first single to miss the top 20.
"Try Again" is a song performed and composed by English alternative rock band Keane that appears as the 10th track on their second studio album, Under the Iron Sea (2006). The song was released as the sixth single off the album only in Germany on 9 February 2007. This is also Keane's first single with three B-sides, all live performances from Cologne, Germany.
"Is It Any Wonder?" is a song written and performed by English alternative rock band Keane, released as the second single from their second studio album, Under the Iron Sea. The single was released to the iTunes Store on 16 May and to shops on 29 May 2006. "Is It Any Wonder?" debuted at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart on 28 May 2006 based on download sales alone and reached number three with physical sales added on 4 June. The song was nominated for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group at the 2007 Grammy Awards, losing to "My Humps" by the Black Eyed Peas.
"The Night Sky" is a song written and performed by English rock band Keane. The song was released as a one-off charity single released by the band in aid of War Child. It was released as a download on 22 October 2007 and then a physical release on Island Records on 29 October 2007. It was also released in USB format, and was the third of Keane's singles to be released in this format.
Keane Live is English alternative rock band Keane's fourth DVD, second proper. It was recorded at London's The O2 Arena during the band's Under the Iron Sea Tour and released on 19 November 2007.
Perfect Symmetry is the third studio album by English rock band Keane, released on 13 October 2008 in the United Kingdom.
Hopes and Fears is the debut studio album by the English alternative rock band Keane. It was released on 10 May 2004 in the United Kingdom and topped the UK Albums Chart upon release. It was the UK's second best-selling album of 2004, behind the Scissor Sisters' self-titled debut album, and has since been certified 9× Platinum by the BPI. The album returned to the top of the charts after winning a Brit Award for Best Album in February 2005.
The Retrospective EPs are a series of digital EPs by English rock band Keane, with the first being released on 5 December 2008 as the Everybody's Changing EP or Retrospective EP1. The cover art features the font Cochin for the first time since the release of "Bend and Break" in 2005.
Night Train is an EP by English rock band Keane. The EP's title and material was born out of the group's Perfect Symmetry World Tour of 2008–2009.
Strangeland is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Keane, released on 4 May 2012 through Island Records. It is their first full-length album since Perfect Symmetry (2008), as well as the first to feature bassist Jesse Quin as an official member.