We're living in the Simon Cowell generation. Everyone seems to be a product of a TV show and it's made music quite generic, which I find very frustrating.
Tom Chaplin, Keane's frontman has given his views on the current state of mainstream pop and has said he and his bandmates see it as their job to "fight against mindless, temporary pop".
Keane celebrated their fifth album 'Strangeland' entering the UK album chart at Number One on Sunday and Chaplin said he viewed scoring a Number One album as a triump in today's "Simon Cowell generation".
Asked whether it meant more to the band to have scored a Number One album now than ever before, Chaplin said: "It does mean more. It's a relief that people are still willing to listen to music like ours, because it's clearly becoming a rarer thing. It feels to me liek when we first started out in 2004, there were loads of bands and over the years they've all fallen by the way side."
He added: "When we were teenagers, we had Britpop, so we had all this great music in the charts, even the singles chart had some authenticity today. It seems much harder to find great music in the charts these days, that's not to say that it isn't there but it's much harder to find. I can't think of that many great records that have been a chart success in the last few years."
Chaplin was less than complimentary when asked what kind of state he believed mainstream music is in now, compared to when his band starting out.
He said: "It seems to have changed quite a lot. Getting exposure for new bands is becoming much harder. It's more about the entertainment side of things and less about the music and authenticity. We're living in the Simon Cowell generation. Everyone seems to be a product of a TV show and it's made music quite generic, which I find very frustrating."
Keane will tour UK in support of 'Strangeland' in May, playing a total of nine shows. The run begins at Newcastel's O2 Academy on May 23 and runs until June 8, when Keane will headline London's O2 Academy Brixton.
Keane are playing at this year's T In The Park. taking place June 6-8 in Balado Park, Kinross.
NME Magazine
Tagged in Keane Tom Chaplin Simon Cowell