Keane to Release Under the Iron Sea in June

Keane will release its second album Under the Iron Sea on June 12 according to a published report on Billboard.com.

The UK trio released Hopes & Fears in 2004. That album featured a piano-bass-drum-vocal formula to create soaring melodies. It has been certified gold in the US selling more than 855,000. This time out, the band is reportedly adding guitar to the mix.

The complete tracklisting for Under the Iron Sea:

• Atlantic
  
• Is It Any Wonder?
  
• Nothing in My Way
  
• Leaving So Soon?
  
• A Bad Dream
  
• Hamburg Song
  
• Put It Behind You
  
• The Iron Sea
  
• Crystal Ball
  
• Try Again
  
• Broken Toy
  
• The Frog Prince
  

I bought Hopes & Fears after hearing “Somewhere Only We Know” in satanBest Buy. Let me interrupt my train of thought for a moment. I liked the song being played in satanBest Buy and found the album was — wait for it — on sale for the very reasonable price of $8.99. I had never heard of Keane and had only heard “Somewhere Only We Know” on an in-store play. I decided to take a chance because the album was only $8.99. I bought it. I paid for it. With cash money. So let us review: I was able to hear a new song by a new band and found the CD in a store at a reasonable price. Someone ought to try this!

Back to the album… “Somewhere Only We Know” is catchy as hell despite bordering on being overly earnest. It was a perfect single to introduce the band to worldwide audiences. If you hated it, you were going to hate the album. That is not to say the rest of the songs are derivative (although some of them can be) but rather it establishes the framework the rest of the album follows. There are 1,000 reasons to dismiss Hopes & Fears and I have ignored them all.

I am looking forward to hearing Under the Iron Sea.