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Under The Iron Sea
by Keane

Keane reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 63 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
8.0 out of 10
based on 24 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 65 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album

Album number two for the stadium-friendly, piano-led British trio follows two years after the unexpected mega-success of their debut 'Hopes And Fears.'

LABEL: Interscope
RELEASE DATE: 20 June 2006
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Alternative, Rock

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

91
Entertainment Weekly
Aside from a single misstep (the title track, an instrumental that could serve as the too-ponderous theme for an art film about the rise and fall of Atlantis), the strings and things work well, adding density and drama.
Read Full Review
80
Urb
This time the band offers a variety of styles, from uptempo rockers to gorgeous ballads to move you. [Jun 2006, p.119]
80
Q Magazine
This lack of reinvention... does not mean lack of invention. [Jul 2006, p.108]
70
Dot Music
Despite the rousing music and the earnestness of Tom Chaplin's voice, Keane still sing passionately about not very much in particular.
Read Full Review
70
Uncut
In truth, only an uncharitable curmudgeon could fail to appreciate Tim Rice-Oxley's vastly improved pop songwriting. [Jul 2006, p.102]
70
Billboard
An album to return to again and again, whose depth grows with every spin.
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70
All Music Guide
Die-hard fans might rush to judge Under the Iron Sea as sounding a bit too much like U2.
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70
Slant Magazine
What they have done, to their credit, is take the best elements from those bands--Radiohead's soaring melodies, U2's scope and volume, Coldplay's dogged earnestness--and combine them into something that, for much of Under The Iron Sea's running time, is a perfectly respectable alternative to, say, the likes of Train or The Goo Goo Dolls or to Coldplay's comparatively bland X&Y.
Read Full Review
67
E! Online
Even if Keane hasn't completely gone down with Under The Iron Sea, the band is merely treading water here.
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67
The Onion (A.V. Club)
[Songwriter Tim] Rice-Oxley sells his gifts short too often by falling back on tritely positivist pap like "Put It Behind You" and "Try Again," and even Andy Green's electrifying production can't save pasty, interminable songs like "Crystal Ball," "Broken Toy," and (c'mon, now) "The Frog Prince."
Read Full Review
60
Rolling Stone
Depending on your taste for high romance, it either adds up to heart-tugging pop or nice dinner music.
Read Full Review
60
Paste Magazine
Keane knows its niche and plays it well. [Aug 2006, p.97]
60
Blender
Beautiful but strangely unhinged. [Jul 2006, p.100]
60
Prefix Magazine
Those who enjoy the smooth sounds of inoffensive MOR will find little fault in Keane.
Read Full Review
60
Mojo
Their new direction sounds suspiciously like the old one. [Jul 2006, p.100]
60
Spin
There's virtually no tension or drama in Keane's surpassingly pretty pop. [Jul 2006, p.90]
60
NOW Magazine
Whether you'll like the newest Keane offering depends largely on your appetite for melodrama.
Read Full Review
60
The Guardian
It's not bad - which is just as well, as it will be inescapable.
Read Full Review
60
musicOMH.com
It would appear that Tim, Tom and Richard have spent some time at the U2 School of Squillion-Selling Records, their final project sounding more expansive and dramatic than Hopes And Fears ever did.
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41
Pitchfork
Iron Sea is filled with the sort of greeting-card poetry that would even give Bono pause.
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40
Observer Music Monthly
When they're not apeing War-era U2 ('Crystal Ball') they're apeing Achtung Baby-era U2 ('Is It Any Wonder?'). Otherwise they plod along, piano clip-clopping under all the electronic fuss, in thrall to their own pseudo-profundity.
Read Full Review
40
PopMatters
It’s as if Keane desperately wanted to move past the “three blokes playing simple little songs” label, but didn’t have the technical skill or the guts to pull it off.
Read Full Review
30
Under The Radar
If this is what happens when Keane attempt to delve into darkness, the mind reels at what these guys would sound like when they’re in a good mood. [#14]
25
Stylus Magazine
Keane have talked up Under the Iron Sea as being bleaker, more raw than their debut album. It is about the things they have seen over the last two years, the problems, the horrors, the sin. But Keane have not been uncovering the carcases of napalmed babies for the last two years. They’ve been playing music.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now! The average user rating for this album is 8.0 (out of 10) based on 65 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Christopher G gave it a10:
One of the most moving and talented albums of the decade

Jorge P gave it a10:
One of the best albums in history.

tristan t gave it a10:
Beautiful melodys, amazing lyrics and the best voice in music!!! I thought Hopes and Fears could not be surpassed but Under the Iron Sea has done this. In a time where we are plagued with fad bands ie The Arctic Monkeys, who cant sing a note and probably wont be around in a year because every song sounds the same, Keane are a breath of fresh air. Real music which has real depth and emotion!! Keep it going lads.

sandeep m gave it an8:
its good not great....is it any wonder sounds good

Craig D gave it an8:
A great follow-up to a fantastic debut. "A Bad Dream" and "Leaving So Soon" stand out for me, whilst even the slower songs like "Hamburg Song" have their own appeal. True, it isn't much darker in sound (only lyrically), but this is nevertheless a fantastically pleasant album, with just the one filler song. This will probably end up being the most underrated album of 2006...Shame that three-chord emo rock has taken over from the truly enchanting melodies that real bands, such as Keane, consistently churn out. Wonderful stuff.

Chris L gave it a3:
Poor, really. Better than the first one at least

richard j gave it a10:
For the record i don´t like Keane (i don´t really know why but i guess it´s the same reason as razorlight they get overplayed and i don´t like either´s vocies) but this album is amazing! If rufus wainwright or any alternative artist did this album you would be on it like flys to dog sh*t! But because it´s Keane oh lets slag them off cos they are popular and from a major and blah blah blah! This album is much more musical then the first has also got a lot of dynamic range, yes sometimes mellodramatic (rufus wainwright & Anthony and the johnsons do the same!) The singles which have been released are not my favourites of here but the album as a such is very strong! This album has surpised me and i feel Keane can grow into a better band after the differcult second album, infact when their third comes out i will buy their next one! As this album impressed me a lot! The only album in it´s field i would recommend its the guillermots! This should have had the same score in my opinion! Oh well it is only opinions!

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