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Keane - Silenced By The Night He says: "One thing I regret about Perfect Symmetry and Night Train is that we weren't connecting, getting the emotions and stories across. I wanted those stories told clearly on this record." There's been a greater emphasis on his lyrics with key songs such as the tender ballad and album's best track, The Starting Line, new single Silenced By The Night, the eerily beautiful Black Rain each telling a story about friendship, love and dreams. And Strangeland's centrepiece is Sovereign Light Cafe, a song that pays homage to the seafront caf in Bexhill, East Sussex, where they used to meet as teenagers. Richard says: "I remember driving around in Tom's ropey green Honda. The freedom and kicking a football around." But Tim stresses that rather than an album of pure nostalgia, it's about looking forward. qr He says: "We are just getting started. I really think that even at this stage. Our determination to keep getting better has been inspired by us getting better as a band. We're not on cruise control and no one cares any more. That would terrify me." And pre-show, SFTW finds the band in good spirits. Richard laughs as we walk into their dressing room: "Close your eyes -- there are naked hockey players next door," The room doubles up as a changing room for the local ice hockey teams. New boy bassist Jesse Quin irons his shirt ("I bet U2 don't iron their own clothes," he jokes), while Tom drums the back of a chair with a pair of sticks. Tim is next door in their music room, rehearsing for showtime in exactly two hours. Strangeland is the sound of a band finally comfortable with their place in music. Later on back at the band's hotel, Tim says: "I guess we are more confident. Making our previous records out of the Keane comfort zone (they experimented with synths and hip-hop) helped that for sure. Keane's fourth album ... out on May 7 "One minute we were a piano band then we became a Euro synth band." The tracks were recorded at Tim's SeaFog studios next to his Sussex home with Vaccines, Radiohead and Lana Del Rey producer Dan Grech-Marguerat. He spent most of 2010 writing them. Tim -- who has also written for Kylie Minogue, Nicole Scherzinger and Gwen Stefani -- admits: "It took a bit longer than I'd hoped to unlock something that we all felt excited about. They are all stories you want to shine a light on." He adds: "For me it's the first time we've made something that touches on real greatness." Jesse, 30, says: "With this album Tim worked so hard. He'd write, then send tracks to the rest of us and wait for our reaction. "We'd argue about some songs. "And it's difficult because you know Tim's been sat in his studio slaving away, unlocking his soul and we go back to him, 'I don't like the line about... ' knowing he will be going, 'F*** Off.'" There's been a lot of growing up for Keane in recent years. All members are now married and Tim has welcomed a second daughter. Keane also expanded by welcoming Jesse -- Tim's partner in Mt Desolation -- on board "officially" for Strangeland though he's played live with them since 2007. qr He laughs: "I will be like Ronnie Wood -- the new guy for 30 years. I always thought someone was missing when Keane played live -- I never realised it was me." Tim says: "Jesse is a great person to bounce ideas off with all this effort going into the songs." It's been quite the journey for the band from Battle -- all friends since school. Their 2004 debut Hopes and Fears was a massive hit and the spotlight affected the three band members differently. Richard says: "The attention Tom got was scary. It wasn't about the fame -- we just wanted to be in a band." Tim agrees: "When we started we were typical teenagers who wanted to meet girls. A bunch of geeks who wanted to find a way of being cool." "Cool" and "Keane" are not two words that go together. With their posh middle-class backgrounds, they've come in for sniping. Tom says: "As a band I think we've suffered a lot of judgment. Richard adds: "It was constant abuse for a while. But our fans have stuck with us and we're still here making the best music. And it's OK to like Keane now." One famous fan is acclaimed Spanish director Juan Antonio Bayona and writer Sergio G. Sanchez who made the cult 2007 movie The Orphanage. The band has just made a short horror film with him for their song Disconnected. And it was Glastonbury 2004 when the then trio first realised how big they had become. Tom explains: "We came back from America where we'd played to 200 people in New York. One of our crew said, 'Oh there's a few in,' And we went out and there were more people than you could ever imagine -- 30,000 people." Tim adds: "It was a blur of adrenaline. I remember the noise and everyone singing. "Having a number one album is great but it's just something on a piece of paper. Seeing thousands of people singing your songs is something else." It's their lasting friendship and level-headedness which is their real strength. Jesse says: "There's no egos in Keane. They've all got piles of platinum and gold discs in boxes in their garages. They don't want to show off. "I had to convince Tim that it was acceptable for him to have his Ivor Novello and Brit Awards on show in his studio!" Relaxed and enjoying life on the road, Keane are at a high point after some well-documented turbulent times. In 2006, Tom checked into the Priory for treatment for drink and drug problems. He says: "I wasn't enjoying the gigs and I was really tired. "I was having late nights, eating, drinking and the rest. Keane was grinding to a halt." And Richard remembers 2005's Live 8 as one regret. He recalls: "We left to go to another festival. Watching everyone singing with Macca at the end. Why weren't we there, arm in arm with our friends The Killers?" The making of second album 2006's Under The Iron Sea was particularly fraught, with a breakdown of communication between Tom and Tim in particular. Tim frowns: "It was pretty grim. After Hopes and Fears we had this incredible rush and didn't know what was going on. "It was very dark. I remember thinking, 'How the hell are we going to pull through?' "We were making that album close to Tom's and he'd still go missing. Things were getting worse. I could never find him. I would be banging on his door in the middle of the night which felt ludicrous." Tim's feelings were vented through songs -- though Tim says he now understands more about Tom's struggles. He says: "It was hard for him. We'd be at an airport at 7am and he'd have cameras thrust in his face. No asking or courtesy either." And now? Tom explains: "I make sure I go to bed the night before and am in the right frame of mind." And after the gig in St Petersburg it's Tom who's first to bed, missing out on any celebratory drinks. He says: "There have been times where I think we haven't known if there's a future for Keane. But we've managed to talk to each other and realise that it's what we want to do."