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June 22, 2008
Posted by kramer
So I joined the millions this past week that purchased Chris Martin and Co's new album VIVA LA VIDA and after a few listens, I am pleasantly surprised with Coldplay's step forward.
Something that I picked up right away on the disc was the absence of Martin's famous falsetto voice. In its place, is a much lower range and an edgier feel to the majority of the tunes (especially songs like YES! and VIOLET HILL). It is reminiscent of TIL KINGDOM COME off of X&Y, which I felt was one of the strongest tunes on the album (and also not written for Coldplay or so MTV told me at the time).
Another prominent sound throughout the album was the influence of their new producer, Brian Eno. Eno is known for "sonic landscapes" on U2 albums (he was a big mastermind of their signature sound on JOSHUA TREE). Because of Eno's touch, I felt like this album was kind of a Coldplay/U2 hybrid as it had a lot of the positives that both bands bring to the table. It also makes sense as one of Coldplay's biggest influences is U2.
VIVA LA VIDA isn't really as listener friendly as previous Coldplay releases, which is a good thing. It is a sign that they are doing something different and aren't adhering to the "one plus one = overkill on the radio" formula. They are trying new things regarding tempos, strings (definitely evident in the disc's title track) and it is nice to see Will Champion not go crazy on the crash symbal on every song.
It is difficult to objectly rate this disc as I have been a fan of Coldplay since I saw the YELLOW video early one morning after class in college but it is palpable that they are the "heirs apparent" to U2. They produce solid rock/pop tunes and VIVA LA VIDA doesn't disappoint. For fans and newbies alike, Coldplay still are a quality place to invest your $9.99.
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COMMENTS Nice review on coldplay. pretty much right on in my view - i heard somebody else make the comparison to bono and that's totally the route that they're on. I like Lost! quite a bit. Overall the album is way more successful than X+Y in my opinion. Can't top their first two though. But they never do, do they? Like you said - they're moving on, progressing, and while the first two will always be tops to me - this album seems to show that they're going to stay interesting as they keep making albums and not just try to be what they used to - a la Oasis. |
