The boys from Keane have been talking about their internal band tensions again. They have told NME.com that their very near split during the making of their new album 'Under The Iron Sea' was averted by the power of the music. The band's Tom Chaplin said: "One of the great things about music is that it's what brought us together in the first place. It was our geeky way of expressing ourselves. We were never very good at talking about stuff, we'd just turn it into music. Having that album to make and making it has definitely helped to reconcile a lot of the troubles we had. It's good to be back in that place again."
Chaplin went on to say that the atmosphere was a spur to create better music, saying: "It's big step up in every way. We're not the sort of band that's scared of change. All the bands we grew up loving are like that - Depeche Mode, Radiohead, The Smiths. Bands that didn't fear changing and always broke new ground. It's definitely very different and rightly so. Whether it's Tim (Rice-Oxley)'s new piano sounds or the funkiness of the drums - all the performances are much more raw and intense. We're kind of darker. It's very much a raw, visceral spontaneous record. All three of us felt we had much more to contribute this time. We all had much more to bring to the party."
Keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley added: "We're actually playing 11 out of the 12 songs live, which we never did with 'Hopes And Fears'. It's good to do that and not have the crowd going to the bar. They do seem to be getting into the new songs straight away."