Keane explain their new sound

Keane have hit back at claims they have used guitars on their second album.

The band will release ‘Under The Iron Sea’ on June 19. Some early reports suggested the group had opted to use guitars this time around.

However, the band have rejected this claim, explaining that the different sounds were achieved by running keyboards through effects pedals.

“Using guitars wasn’t ruled out, because Tom’s (Chaplin, singer) quite good at the guitar,” keyboard player Tim Rice-Oxley told NME.COM. “We were definitely envisaging the possibility of using a bit of guitar early on but we never got round to it.”

Instead Rice-Oxley said the band became intent on experimenting with their piano-led set-up.

“I was touring around the world and, when I was on my travels, I picked up all these vintage cassette units and all these weird gadgets,” he recalled. “When we got home and got in the studio, I realised that there was this whole world of sounds that no-one had ever really explored before.

"People are so obsessed with guitars, but putting an electric piano into a whole chain of effects and seeing what comes out is something that, as far as I know, no-one has ever done before.”

He added that once the band had gone down this route six-stringed instruments didn’t get a look in.

“We probably didn’t ever consider becoming a guitar band again,” Rice-Oxley explained. “We used to be a guitar band when we started and we’ve been there. The sounds on this record are really exciting and expressive of the lyrics and the music. I’m really excited about how far we can go with it.”