Under the Iron Sea

Under the Iron Sea
Studio album by Keane
Released 12 June 2006
Recorded 2005–06
Studio
Genre
Length 50:30
Label Island
Producer
  • Andy Green
  • Keane
Keane chronology
Live Recordings 2004
(2005)		 Under the Iron Sea
(2006)		 Live 06
(2006)
Alternative cover
Cover for release with UK bonus DVD
Singles from Under the Iron Sea
  1. "Atlantic"
    Released: 24 April 2006
  2. "Is It Any Wonder?"
    Released: 29 May 2006
  3. "Crystal Ball"
    Released: 21 August 2006
  4. "Nothing in My Way"
    Released: 30 October 2006
  5. "A Bad Dream"
    Released: 22 January 2007
  6. "Try Again"
    Released: 9 February 2007

Under the Iron Sea is the second studio album by English 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 #4 on the Billboard 200, selling 75,000 units in its first week.[1] Since 22 January 2006 the album had sold over 3,000,000 copies worldwide.[2]

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".[3]

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 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. 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 songs made their first appearance on Strangers, still on demo version while the first only appeared until the album's release. The three first 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 all Keane releases since March 2006, when this album's cover art was developed (on 14 March). 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).

Release

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, out 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 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, 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 5 June 2006, and the Mexican edition was released early on 9 June.

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

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(63/100)[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[6]
The A.V. ClubB−[7]
Rolling Stone[8]
Slant Magazine[9]
Sputnikmusic[10]
Q[8]
Pitchfork Media(4.1/10)[11]
The Guardian[12]
Billboard(Positive)[11]

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.[13]

Considered a victim of the loudness war, Stylus Magazine included the album on their 2006 list of the "Top Ten Worst Sounding Records, 1997–present", referring to its compressed production, describing it as "one of the loudest, most sonically obnoxious records [the journalist] ever had the displeasure to hear" and "the best example of a bad, no, a disgusting sounding record."[14]

Track listing

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

No. Title Length
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
13. "Let It Slide" (Japanese bonus track) 4:12

The US version combines "Put It Behind You" and "The Iron Sea" into one track, 6:33 in length.

Bonus DVD

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

Works in progress

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

Latin American tour edition bonus DVD

  1. "Atlantic" (video)
  2. "Is It Any Wonder?" (video)
  3. "Crystal Ball" (video)
  4. "Nothing in My Way" (video)
  5. "A Bad Dream" (video)
  6. The Making of 'Is It Any Wonder?' (video)

Taiwanese limited edition bonus DVD

  1. "Is It Any Wonder?" (video)
  2. "Crystal Ball" (band version)
  3. "Nothing in My Way" (video)
  4. "Atlantic" (video)
  5. The Making of 'Is It Any Wonder?' (video)

Hidden content

Inserting the CD whilst on the band's website at the Wayback Machine (archived June 12, 2006) allows you to unlock exclusive content including:

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 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 is the Keane song with the third highest tempo to date (144 bpm), next to "You Haven't Told Me Anything" (152 bpm) on the band's next album Perfect Symmetry and "On The Road" (157 bpm) from their fourth album, "Strangeland". Written by Rice-Oxley, it has been rumoured that the lyrics are aimed at Tom after the band had an argument. It is also possible that they are aimed at the old member Dominic, who left before the band gained significant attention; "never had a chance to bloom".
“ 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 is about Rice-Oxley's troubles with Tom Chaplin and how he feels. The song was premiered on 20 October 2004 as a demo. The final version was slowed down and the organ sound was 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 eighth 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"
This song was the third single released, charting at number 20.
"Try Again"
The song was released only in Germany as the fifth single from the album, on a three 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. This song was written by Tim to his bandmate and friend Tom.[15]
"The Frog Prince"
The closing track is a song about Johnny Borrell from the band Razorlight.

Personnel

Keane

  • Tom Chaplin – lead vocals, organ, distortion piano, guitars, piano (on "Broken Toy")
  • Tim Rice-Oxley – piano, bass guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, composition, backing vocals
  • Richard Hughes – drumming and percussion

Additional personnel

  • Andy Green – programming and recording
  • Sanna Annukka – cover design

Chart performance

Charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 16
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[17] 4
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[18] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[19] 4
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[20] 7
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[21] 5
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[22] 1
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[23] 8
French Albums (SNEP)[24] 8
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 3
Greek International Albums (IFPI) 1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ) 21
Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 1
Italian Albums (FIMI)[27] 10
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[28] 65
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[29] 5
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[30] 3
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[31] 3
Polish Albums (ZPAV) 69
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[32] 3
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[33] 4
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[34] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[35] 1
US Billboard 200[36] 4

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United Kingdom 900,000+ 3× Platinum
Ireland 10,000 Platinum
The Netherlands 35,000 Gold
Switzerland 15,000 Gold
Argentina 20,000 Gold
Portugal 20,000+ Platinum
Spain 40,000+ Gold
United States 392,000[37] N/A
France 65,100 N/A
Italy 20,000 N/A

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kenny Chesney Scores Fifth Chart-Topping Album". Billboard.com. 22 October 2008.
  2. ↑ "Keane buoy album sales". Music Week. 19 June 2006. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  3. ↑ "MySpace: Keane". Retrieved September 2006. Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  4. ↑ "Under The Iron Sea Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  5. ↑ MacKenzie Wilson (20 June 2006). "Under the Iron Sea – Keane". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  6. ↑ Sinclair, Tom (19 June 2006). "Under the Iron Sea Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  7. ↑ Murray, Noel (21 June 2006). "Keane: Under The Iron Sea | Music | Music Review". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  8. 1 2 "Keane – Under The Iron Sea CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 20 June 2006. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  9. ↑ "Keane: Under The Iron Sea | Music Review". Slant Magazine. 19 June 2006. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  10. ↑ "Keane – Under The Iron Sea (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 2012-01-12.
  11. 1 2 Archived 21 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (9 June 2006). "Keane, Under the Iron Sea". The Guardian. London.
  13. ↑ "Critic Reviews for Under The Iron Sea". Metacritic. Retrieved 2014-05-10.
  14. ↑ "Top Ten Worst Sounding Records, 1997-Present - Staff Top 10". Stylus Magazine. Retrieved 2016-06-23.
  15. ↑ Archived 13 October 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
  16. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  17. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Keane – Under the Iron Sea" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Keane – Under the Iron Sea" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Keane – Under the Iron Sea" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  20. ↑ "Keane – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Keane. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  21. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  22. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Keane – Under the Iron Sea" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  23. ↑ "Keane: Under the Iron Sea" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  24. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  25. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Keane – Under the Iron Sea" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  26. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 24, 2006". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  27. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  28. ↑ "Mexicancharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  29. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  30. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  31. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  32. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  33. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  34. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Keane – Under the Iron Sea". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  35. ↑ "Keane | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  36. ↑ "Keane – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Keane. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  37. ↑ Ayers, Michael. "Keane Boarding the Night Train This May". billboard.com. 26 February 2010.

External links

Preceded by
Smile... It Confuses People by Sandi Thom		 UK number-one album
18 June 2006 – 1 July 2006 		Succeeded by
Liberation Transmission by Lostprophets
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