Musical Evolution
This album marked the transition from the purely piano-driven songs that established Hopes and Fears to more progressive, sophisticated music, again without using guitars. All songs on the album and b-sides from the singles use these sounds. As seen on Strangers, Rice-Oxley creates these sounds using the distortion pedals and keyboards connected to the CP70 piano. The sound can be recreated by distorting the piano sound and combining with distorted Gothic chorus effect on a digital piano.
Perhaps one of the most notable changes on Under the Iron Sea is the effect pedal-created effects on several songs on the album, most notably "Is It Any Wonder?" and "Crystal Ball". The b-sides for single releases such as "Nothing in My Way" and "Is It Any Wonder?" are influenced primarily by electronic music, suggesting that the band keep experimenting with their music and testing new instruments.
Read more about this topic: Under The Iron Sea
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