Coldplay: Viva la Vida or Death and All his friends

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Coldplay: Viva la Vida or Death and All his friends

May 22nd 2008 12:41

The success of X and Y confused me. You know it’s bad when the band, well really just front man Chris Martin, admits an album is not their finest work. Yet, it sold millions worldwide. Its success showed that the band had established themselves as ‘big’ ie. any album they release will sell, as long as it had a few stadium friendly anthems with choruses that you can wave your hands about to. Coldplay became the dreaded ‘m’ word. Mainstream. It seemed like the band would eventually fade away, releasing singles that would only reach the half listening ears of those who used their albums as background music. But Alas! They did the honourable thing and chose to prove that they were not going to accept being a band only ever referenced in conversations as that band you can never remember the name of. You know the one that had that song about a colour.

Fast forward three years and the buzz surrounding their new album has put them back on the righteous path of a band that could be interesting but not interesting enough to be radio unfriendly. This was largely due to the fantastic PR work done on behalf of EMI. Brian Eno produces! Free shows! Free single download! Free cool vintage vinyl with NME! Hand scrawled messages on their website, signed Prospekt?! Chris Martin hasn’t mentioned Free Trade in a while! – Goodness could Coldplay actually be attempting something original? Could the new Coldplay album actually have songs that sound different from one another??

Here are a few words to describe the little taste I’ve had of Coldplay’s Viva La Vida or Death and all his Friends.

VIVA LA VIDA: Very cheesy. Largely due to the lyrics (‘when I ruled the word’ is not a good line) and the strings. Hopefully not a reflection of the rest of the album.

VIOLET HILL: Rougher than usual. Echoing guitar refrain and thumping piano. Bashing drums, reminiscent of Politik, nicely woven into the riff. Strangely rigid guitar solo in the middle, breaks up the song a bit, but it’s all nicely brought together by the trademark Coldplay stadium sing along line ‘If you love me, won’t you let me know’. The ending brings a different shade to the song, making it different from anything you’ve ever heard from Coldplay before. Quiet piano melody and Chris Martin’s almost-a-whisper vocals (which go back to their usual high pitch) mark the perfect ending to a refreshingly different Coldplay song.
UPDATE: Check out the alternate video for Violet Hill. Much more satisfying than the official release to be honest.
Dancing Politicians Version of Violet Hill - Coldplay

VERDICT: It seems like Coldplay are trying to experiment. Although I do think it was the simplicity of their music which made it so accessible and poetic to begin with, we’ll see if it still translates with a little more strings and a collection of more abstract song titles.

Viva La Vida or Death and All his Friends is out 12 June 2008.

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