Keane Working On New Batch Of Songs

British pop-rock band Keane still have a ways to go in terms of gigs supporting last year's Under The Iron Sea album, but the guitar-free trio already have 15 to 20 song ideas for the follow-up.

"We got together to do that and see where we stand, because I think we're itching to get on with the more creative stuff again," lead singer Tom Chaplin said in a blog entry on the band's website on Feb. 20. "We're just trying to collate all of the ideas we have. I think we want to get in a room and see what we can thrash out.

"I think we just want to take the stress out of it and have fun working on the new stuff before we actually start recording. We're not really sure where it's going to go or how it's going to unfold — that's the fun of it. But I think the three of us in a room going on that adventure together will be a really exciting thing."

Chaplin says that some of the new tunes might be tried out during the group's British tour this month and on a South American trek in April, but he isn't entirely sure. The group, who recently wrapped up a brief North American jaunt, will perform at a few European festivals this summer, including the Isle Of Wight Festival and the July 7 Live Earth — The Concert For A Climate In Crisis festival in London.

"With Live 8, that day came and went and I remember thinking to myself that there'd never be another day like that in my lifetime," said Chaplin, who checked into a rehabilitation facility last August to be treated for drug and alcohol addiction. "Now, just a couple of years later it looks like there'll be another one. It should be amazing."