Under The Iron Sea (studio album) by Keane

Good album, with dark and melancholic songs that try to create a messy and depressive environment with heartbreaking and more introspective lyrics than their debut album HOPES AND FEARS, implementing the use of piano pedals to create different sound effects.
"Is It Any Wonder?" and "A Bad Dream", the best of the album.

Spanish review
Buen álbum, con canciones obscuras, melancólicas y que pretenden crear un ambiente desordenado y depresivo con letras desgarradoras y más introspectivas que su álbum debut HOPES AND FEARS, implementado el uso de pedales en piano para crear diferentes efectos de sonido.
"Is It Any Wonder?" y "A Bad Dream", lo mejor del álbum.

Atlantic» 8 / 10
Is It Any Wonder?» 9.5 / 10
Nothing In My Way» 8.3 / 10
Leaving So Soon?» 7.5 / 10
A Bad Dream» 9 / 10
Hamburg Song» 7 / 10
Put It Behind You» 7 / 10
The Iron Sea» 7 / 10
Crystal Ball» 8.7 / 10
Try Again» 8.2 / 10
Broken Toy» 7 / 10
The Frog Prince» 7.8 / 10

CALIFICACIÓN GENERAL: 7.8

From C_Krug2009 06/30/2022 17:31

Great piano rock. I hate guitar music and I'm so sick of it. There is no art in the effects of and you can't access those complex melodies on guitar unless you fingerpick. So, I love the keyboard so much! This album is a really good album and very interesting with only keyboards as the primary instrument. This album teaches you a thing or two about keyboard if you're an amateur (such as myself) but its great music. Gotta love this album.

Fairly underwhelming on first listen, but on listening again it's a very solid follow-up to Hopes and Fears. Is It Any Wonder is by far my favourite song on the album, what a great song that is. Completely different to anything else on the album. But the rest of the album is very pleasant to listen to.

Keane’s best album in my opinion, every song is so good! This is by far their darkest album but that’s kinda a good thing. From Atlantic to Let It Slide, not a single dip in quality.

From nitomano 06/05/2016 00:36

Favoritas: Is It Any Wonder?, Nothing In My Way, Hamburg Song

Much darker than Hopes and Fears, but a wonderful album nonetheless

Good cover. Good title. Dull and insipid songs though.

From Martini 10/18/2015 12:50

Not as good as Hopes And Fears, but still a masterpiece.

From Eastwood 12/08/2014 21:34

Very good alternative rock/piano rock/pop rock album. Best 10 songs average is 88,2/100 and the album can get very good 90/100. Nearly as good as their previous album "Hopes & fears", bit more even. But continuously strong without lows. Best song is "Is it any wonder?" 95/100, followed by "Hamburg song" and "Crystal ball" both 90/100. All other songs good 80-85/100. Notable: "The iron sea" and "Crystal ball" are one track on my CD-release.

From sageamagoo 12/02/2012 13:35

The only album I've heard by the band thus far. Atlantic is fantastic, but the rest is just a tad too poppy for me. Still good, though.

EDIT:
I'm getting into this album alot more now; the songs are well constructed and the keyboards and electronics add a nice atmosphere to it. It's definitely in my chart, but I still have one complaint: it's very, VERY loud. A shame, considering.