story by Charley Rogulewski
photo by Alex Lake

"The New Coldplay." "Coldplay's worst nightmare." "A debut album that echoes Bends-era Radiohead and [of course] Coldplay." This is what it reads beneath every byline of anything that's ever been written about the U.K.'s latest music invention, Keane. Research on the band has left me feeling like I have stepped into the twilight zone of analytical repetition. Poor Keane.

Wait a minute! What am I talking about? Still virgins of the U.S. tour circuit (this winter tour being Keane's second visit Stateside), such comparisons to British sappy rock masterminds has helped Keane more than it has hurt them. Case and point: being signed to major label Interscope, a stint on "SNL", sold out shows, and enough airplay from their single "Somewhere Only We Know" to land them a spot on the Billboard charts.

Yet, keyboardist and songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley doesn't really agree with what everyone has to say about his band Keane. "I think it's more of a way of simplifying things," he told Chicago Innerview. "I don't think we really sound like Coldplay. I don't think we sound like Radiohead. I don't think we sound particularly like anyone. I think we understand why people need to make comparisons, but I really hope people will take the time to actually listen to our album properly or come and see us play live. I think as soon as they do that, they'll realize that we have something that's very much our own sound, that we're very much our own mood and atmosphere."

RICE-OXLEY'S INNER VIEW "I don't know what our image is. I think that it's probably that we don't have an image. We are just three normal guys who love to make music. In the end, I feel that will be what is our greatest strength."

Rice-Oxley is sincere, mellow, and reflective. Most of what comes out of his mouth is very vague. He speaks like a wise thinker trying to make sense of the world for everyone's benefit, through his own eyes. He ends things reiterating how most bands "probably are like this" or "some bands are more intense like that". He never says anything that would pigeonhole Keane.

"I don't know what our image is. I think that it's probably that we don't have an image. We are just three normal guys who love to make music. In the end, I feel that will be what is our greatest strength."

That and the passion behind what they are doing. Keane is comprised of Rice-Oxley, Richard Hughes on drums, and vocalist Tom Chaplin. They range in between the ages of 25 and 29. Keane grew up together in the serene countryside of East Sussex, England.

"We've been friends for 25 years and we didn't start playing music proper 'till about 10 years ago. We had the friendship and the bond, but we didn't have the musical skill. So we had to learn that all from scratch. So we learned it together. We made a lot of mistakes. Played some bad songs. Played some bad gigs. Probably sounded awful. But we learned everything together. It's taken Keane a lot of time to get somewhere, but now we've got this great history of trial and error. It's a wealth of experience. There is no substitute for that. We are very lucky that we have the friendship, and the experience has been intriguing. We had a lot of bad times with the band. A lot of ups and downs and that means that we really appreciate everything we do…every person that buys a record, comes sees us play. It changes your outlook on things."

Listening to Keane's music, you wouldn't think there was much struggle involved. Their CD flows along on a wave of classical piano, dreamy synths, and naturally reverbing vocal chords. Chaplin stretches notes with his alto-falsetto, barely leaving room to take a breath in between lyrics. The laid-back rock tempo of the drums is what yields the listener from falling into a sonically-induced coma from the wistful sound of keys and vocals. Electronic samplings and random bass rhythms sneak in and out through Keane's music, thanks to a G4 PowerBook that accompanies the group onstage.

"I play the bass," Rice-Oxley continues. "I used to play it when we were a guitar band back in the day. I still play the bass when we record. But when we play live, I don't have the hands to play bass and keyboards as well. So we thought we could either use my bass parts running off the laptop or we can get someone else in as a session guy. But the chemistry of the band on stage is so important and you can't sacrifice that. So we decided to keep it the three of us and keep this magical thing. So we ended up getting the bass part in there on the computer as a sort of second me."

As of now, Keane has no clue if they will be adding any guitars to their next album, which is slated to be released in April. "We don't know because we haven't started recording as of yet," Oxley assures me, although he remains open to the idea of adding to what makes them so different from others. "We'll do anything to get the songs the way we want them. We want to concentrate more on keeping things simple sonically. Just making sure every sound and idea is great, rather than just having layers of a bunch of different sound and nobody saying anything. We shall see."

For now, Keane's music says a lot. It shows a lot of promise for a band that prides itself most on being uber-passionate about what they do and the tight tie between its members. "It's like a marriage. You have to work everyday. You can't just sit there and say whatever you are thinking and annoy people, because at the end of the day we are working together and we get on the tour bus. We live with each other basically day in and day out. You need to learn how to deal with things. It happens to all bands and I'm sure it's worse in other bands, you know? We learn to deal with things very well. We get along great. It's a great experience being in a band. It's an amazing thing and we are very lucky because of it."

Keane :: with the Redwalls and the Zutons :: Riviera :: February 17.