[20:50] <Shiv> i am listening to a album right now though
[20:50] <Shiv> coldplay's new album
[20:50] <McGraw> is cool!
[20:50] <Shiv> yeah !
[20:53] <McGraw> shiv, you should review coldplay
[20:54] <Shiv> nah mcgraw, you can do it
[20:55] <McGraw> ok fine, i'll give it a go, i have several hours to kill
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
To some, Coldplay represent the blandest thing on the menu and judged on recent form... they would have a point. X&Y, their insipid 2005 outing that bordered on self parody, was a cry for help from a band lost within its self imposed creative bounds. Chris Martin et al turned to none other than Brian Eno, a producer whose curriculum vitae proceeds him. His influence is apparant throughout the record and together, they have concocted a dish that is not quite Michelin Star, but will tickle your taste buds nonetheless.
Musically, they have come a long way; incorporating exotic percussion, off key riffs, and less conventional song structures into a sound that remains unmistakably Coldplay. Gone are the piano heavy ballads of yesteryear and with them, most of Martin's self pitying lyrics. Indeed, lyrically, this album is his strongest offering yet, but lines like "soldiers you've got to soldier on" and "just because I'm hurting doesn't mean I'm hurt" remind us he still knows how to induce a cringe. Fortunately, there is nothing quite as painfully banal as Fix You.
1. "Life in Technicolor"
We begin with a touching instrumental that simmers and boils to a climatic "oh oh oh". You would be forgiven to think in the first 30 seconds that you were actually listening to U2 circa Joshua Tree. This is an uplifting opener that presents Coldplay as a band instead of "Chris Martin and friends". 8.5/10
2. "Cemeteries of London"
Not nearly as dark nor as haunting as the title suggests, but this is possibly as close as they will ever get to fitting those adjectives. An acoustic guitar and clapping, above a muted piano, drive this ode to the supernatural, while Martin bellows "I see God come in my garden but I don't know what he said, for my heart it wasn't open". You half expect him to sing "there is a house in New Orleans...", such is the resemblence to House of the Rising Sun, and though he tries his best to conjure a striking image, it falls just short. However, I love the "la la la la la la le"s. 7/10
3. "Lost!"
While their artistic intentions are good, the cynic will assert that the band included this to avoid alienating their core fanbase. Strip away the richly layered instrumentation, and you are left with a piano ballad that reeks of Coldplay by numbers. It even includes typically throwaway lyrics like "you might be a big fish in a little pond". 6/10
4. "42"
42 begins inoffensively enough with Martin crooning over a piano melody, striking immediate comparisons with Trouble. But they were just toying with you! One and a half minutes in, this morphs into something else altogether, and before you know it, it detours to a third-song-within-a-song complete with sing along, guitar hook, handclaps and "oh oh oh"s. The lyrics are pants and the ending is kind of disappointing though. 7/10
5. "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love"
If you excuse the halfbaked lyrics, Lovers in Japan is an anthemic romp that will become a staple of anime music videos on Youtube for the title alone (although the acoustic version is superior). Apparantly Reign of Love is "hidden" to give buyers on itunes better value for money. Well my retort to that is, what about people who bought the CD and just want to skip the song? It is cute and melodic enough, but pretty unmemorable. 7/10 & 4/10
6. "Yes/Chinese Sleep Chant"
Finally Chris Martin hits puberty. Here, in a voice several octaves lower than usual, he explores lust and sexual frustration. There is latent passion and aggression in possibly his best vocal performance on the album. I admit to hating Yes during the first couple of listens, but it has gradually grown on me. I initially thought the Eastern strings were a mess, but increasingly, they seem appropriate. Chinese Sleep Chant is Coldplay's most obvious effort of trying something new, which is inherently hit and miss. Though Martin's indecipherable wailing is eeriely beautiful, one senses that the band did not quite achieve what they hoped. 6/10 & 5/10
7. "Viva la Vida"
By far the most immediate song on the album, Viva la Vida conjures religious imagery to tell an epic tale of experience and change. Lyrically superior to anything else in their catalogue, this epitemises everything good about Coldplay. Martin's voice soars above jerky strings and a thumping drumbeat, and "oh oh oh"s come as standard of course. 9/10
8. "Violet Hill"
On the face of it, Violet Hill boasts some powerful lyrics, but scratch beneath the surface and you sense that there is no real meaning to them. This is a catchy footstomper though, with a killer hook that will be shouted back to the band by many a concert crowd. The understated ending is genuinely touching. 8/10
9. "Strawberry Swing"
African beats and looped guitars waltz sleepily as Martin decides to get nostalgic about childhood and lost innocence. "People moving all the time inside a perfectly straight line, don't you want to just curve away?" he croons dreamily, in a simple but powerful message. 9/10
10. "Death and All His Friends/The Escapist"
First half is decidedly mundane but this is reconciled by a glorious group refrain of "I don't want a battle from beginning to end, I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge, I don't want to follow death and all of his friends". Blimey. That would have been a fitting end to a solid album, but what follows is a reprise of Life in Technicolor. This would have been more palatable if it were not for Martin pretending to be McCartney at The End of Abbey Road. 9/10 & 5/10
---
Their fourth offering is pretentiously titled and ambitious in intention, but have Coldplay delivered on their promise to explore, develop and innovate? Well... yes and no. Be under no illusion, this is a polished mainstream record that will sell millions. As for pushing boundaries, Coldplay have strayed as far as they dare; think "down the road" rather than "new neighbourhood". There are glimmers of brilliance and a vague hand gesture towards a new direction, but nothing that will likely convince their critics. Nevertheless, Viva... is a strong return for a band who could have endlessly regurgitated the same commercial formula.
Verdict: 7/10
[20:50] <Shiv> coldplay's new album
[20:50] <McGraw> is cool!
[20:50] <Shiv> yeah !
[20:53] <McGraw> shiv, you should review coldplay
[20:54] <Shiv> nah mcgraw, you can do it
[20:55] <McGraw> ok fine, i'll give it a go, i have several hours to kill
Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
To some, Coldplay represent the blandest thing on the menu and judged on recent form... they would have a point. X&Y, their insipid 2005 outing that bordered on self parody, was a cry for help from a band lost within its self imposed creative bounds. Chris Martin et al turned to none other than Brian Eno, a producer whose curriculum vitae proceeds him. His influence is apparant throughout the record and together, they have concocted a dish that is not quite Michelin Star, but will tickle your taste buds nonetheless.
Musically, they have come a long way; incorporating exotic percussion, off key riffs, and less conventional song structures into a sound that remains unmistakably Coldplay. Gone are the piano heavy ballads of yesteryear and with them, most of Martin's self pitying lyrics. Indeed, lyrically, this album is his strongest offering yet, but lines like "soldiers you've got to soldier on" and "just because I'm hurting doesn't mean I'm hurt" remind us he still knows how to induce a cringe. Fortunately, there is nothing quite as painfully banal as Fix You.
1. "Life in Technicolor"
We begin with a touching instrumental that simmers and boils to a climatic "oh oh oh". You would be forgiven to think in the first 30 seconds that you were actually listening to U2 circa Joshua Tree. This is an uplifting opener that presents Coldplay as a band instead of "Chris Martin and friends". 8.5/10
2. "Cemeteries of London"
Not nearly as dark nor as haunting as the title suggests, but this is possibly as close as they will ever get to fitting those adjectives. An acoustic guitar and clapping, above a muted piano, drive this ode to the supernatural, while Martin bellows "I see God come in my garden but I don't know what he said, for my heart it wasn't open". You half expect him to sing "there is a house in New Orleans...", such is the resemblence to House of the Rising Sun, and though he tries his best to conjure a striking image, it falls just short. However, I love the "la la la la la la le"s. 7/10
3. "Lost!"
While their artistic intentions are good, the cynic will assert that the band included this to avoid alienating their core fanbase. Strip away the richly layered instrumentation, and you are left with a piano ballad that reeks of Coldplay by numbers. It even includes typically throwaway lyrics like "you might be a big fish in a little pond". 6/10
4. "42"
42 begins inoffensively enough with Martin crooning over a piano melody, striking immediate comparisons with Trouble. But they were just toying with you! One and a half minutes in, this morphs into something else altogether, and before you know it, it detours to a third-song-within-a-song complete with sing along, guitar hook, handclaps and "oh oh oh"s. The lyrics are pants and the ending is kind of disappointing though. 7/10
5. "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love"
If you excuse the halfbaked lyrics, Lovers in Japan is an anthemic romp that will become a staple of anime music videos on Youtube for the title alone (although the acoustic version is superior). Apparantly Reign of Love is "hidden" to give buyers on itunes better value for money. Well my retort to that is, what about people who bought the CD and just want to skip the song? It is cute and melodic enough, but pretty unmemorable. 7/10 & 4/10
6. "Yes/Chinese Sleep Chant"
Finally Chris Martin hits puberty. Here, in a voice several octaves lower than usual, he explores lust and sexual frustration. There is latent passion and aggression in possibly his best vocal performance on the album. I admit to hating Yes during the first couple of listens, but it has gradually grown on me. I initially thought the Eastern strings were a mess, but increasingly, they seem appropriate. Chinese Sleep Chant is Coldplay's most obvious effort of trying something new, which is inherently hit and miss. Though Martin's indecipherable wailing is eeriely beautiful, one senses that the band did not quite achieve what they hoped. 6/10 & 5/10
7. "Viva la Vida"
By far the most immediate song on the album, Viva la Vida conjures religious imagery to tell an epic tale of experience and change. Lyrically superior to anything else in their catalogue, this epitemises everything good about Coldplay. Martin's voice soars above jerky strings and a thumping drumbeat, and "oh oh oh"s come as standard of course. 9/10
8. "Violet Hill"
On the face of it, Violet Hill boasts some powerful lyrics, but scratch beneath the surface and you sense that there is no real meaning to them. This is a catchy footstomper though, with a killer hook that will be shouted back to the band by many a concert crowd. The understated ending is genuinely touching. 8/10
9. "Strawberry Swing"
African beats and looped guitars waltz sleepily as Martin decides to get nostalgic about childhood and lost innocence. "People moving all the time inside a perfectly straight line, don't you want to just curve away?" he croons dreamily, in a simple but powerful message. 9/10
10. "Death and All His Friends/The Escapist"
First half is decidedly mundane but this is reconciled by a glorious group refrain of "I don't want a battle from beginning to end, I don't want a cycle of recycled revenge, I don't want to follow death and all of his friends". Blimey. That would have been a fitting end to a solid album, but what follows is a reprise of Life in Technicolor. This would have been more palatable if it were not for Martin pretending to be McCartney at The End of Abbey Road. 9/10 & 5/10
---
Their fourth offering is pretentiously titled and ambitious in intention, but have Coldplay delivered on their promise to explore, develop and innovate? Well... yes and no. Be under no illusion, this is a polished mainstream record that will sell millions. As for pushing boundaries, Coldplay have strayed as far as they dare; think "down the road" rather than "new neighbourhood". There are glimmers of brilliance and a vague hand gesture towards a new direction, but nothing that will likely convince their critics. Nevertheless, Viva... is a strong return for a band who could have endlessly regurgitated the same commercial formula.
Verdict: 7/10
