Keane instincts

New album Strangeland is a return to heartfelt sound adored by their fans, says Ed Power

TIM Rice-Oxley is sharing bad memories. “It was a shock when the media turned on us,” says Keane’s songwriter. “I don’t think we were prepared for that level of cynicism.

“Nobody ever is, are they? The only comfort is that it was mostly a press thing. The public embraced the songs. But you take it to heart, all the same. You grow up dreaming of being on the front of a music magazine. When they reject you, it isn’t nice.”