Keane -- Under the Iron Sea

On each of their albums, Queen used to proudly proclaim, "No synthesizers!" Keane isn't quite as deliberately militant about their lack of guitars but they are every bit as absent, as Keane builds their melancholic yet infectious Pop with nothing more than Tom Chaplin's angelically scuffed falsetto, Tim Rice-Oxley's atmospheric keyboards and Richard Hughes' tastefully appointed drums. The trio's 2004 debut album, Hopes and Fears, was yard-sticked favorably with Coldplay, U2 and Travis, and it did well in the U.S. after the album's first single was used in a Victoria's Secret TV spot (hold all sell-out comments; the band got no money from the promotion-only gig). Keane's sophomore effort, Under the Iron Sea, is every bit as melancholy but slightly less frenetic than Hopes and Fears. And it is no less powerful, from the haunting lilt of "Atlantic" to the propulsive "Is It Any Wonder?" and "Put It Behind You" to the sonorous "Hamburg Song." The key to Keane's sonic success isn't in the band's no-guitars novelty but in the beautifully solid songs they translate in that way. (Brian Baker) Grade: B+

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