Keane - 5 May 2006 - ULU, London

It’s almost exactly two years ago that Keane released their debut album ‘Hopes and Fears’ – an album that went on to sell over 4m copies worldwide. And the last time that the band played in the capital was for three consecutive nights at Brixton Academy. Tonight, 18 months later at ULU (capacity – 900), Keane are back, Back, BACK, and they’ve filled their boots.

After the most inauspicious of entrances (shuffle, shuffle, not so much as an “‘ello”), the three-piece trial most of their new album, ‘Under the Iron Sea’. For fear of boring the die-hards (the majority of people here are signed-up members of the Keane website), the band pepper the setlist with old reliables, including ‘Somewhere Only We Know,’ ‘Everybody’s Changing,’ and ‘Bedshaped.’

But it’s the new tracks that highlight what sounds like it must have been a tough time of late for the band. The word is ‘dark’ – or as singer Tom Chaplin puts it after the first couple of songs: “Welcome to the strange new world of Keane.” There’s a brooding menace to ‘Atlantic,’ while ‘Bad Dream,’ although hook-laden, suggests that the boys may have had a struggle on their hands at the time of writing this album. Interviews over the coming weeks might help shed some light on the matter.

More impressively, though, is the fact that these new songs feel fuller, stronger and more polished than the first album, which, when played live, always sounded - and looked - like a bit of help was needed. Could do with a guitar? Here’s a piano that sounds like one (‘Is It Any Wonder?’).

There are certainly some stories to be told about the writing of these new songs. But one thing is for certain – Keane’s boots are filled. If this album does as well as the last, then there’s plenty of time for you to fill yours.