The Review: Coldplay - 'X&Y'
I've had about a week to digest the album, so I can confidently say that I don't have much to add to what has already been said about the latest offering from the world's most famous "sensitive British guys". But in case you've missed what others have said...
This is a good album. Not great. Probably not better than 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' or 'Parachutes,' but not much worse either. Basically, a middle of the road offering, which is kind of disappointing.
But, I am encouraged by some signs of progress.
This album is, for lack of a better term, more expansive in scope than the band's previous collections. It sounds big, mainly through echoing guitars and an ethereal quality that is somewhat reminiscent of a few tracks on 'Parachutes' that caused everyone to refer to the band as the next Radiohead. But if we are going to describe albums by comparing them to influences, then 'X&Y' can best be described as the spawn of mid-90s Radiohead and late-90s U2 (even some Duran Duran!). You know, the Radiohead that put out albums like 'The Bends' and the U2 that was searching for its way after 'Pop' (which I didn't think was nearly as bad as a lot of people make it out to be). What results are songs that sound like they are floating but still driving forward, if that makes any sense.
The 12-track album (minus the hidden track) is split into an 'X' side and a 'Y' side (you have to imagine the sides), which, if read in the most obvious manner, could represent a male side and a female side. While trying to make something out of this analysis, which is my own I should say, all I could really come up with is that the first 6 tracks deal with masculine feelings of reassessment and the second 6 are about how girls make guys feel funny. So, you know, its about feelings and stuff, which shouldn't be surprising from a man who named his kid Apple.
I think the album sounds great. Musically, this is a step forward. Granted, it is not as big a step as the band took between 'Parachutes' and 'A Rush of Blood to the Head,' but it is still a step. They have managed to forge their own sound for the most part and it is one that has legs. People don't get tired of the type of music that Coldplay makes, which bodes well for them careerwise. People who don't like the type of music that Coldplay makes are the type of people who only watch subtitled art films while eating $12 tofu tacos and drinking French beer, complaining about the perils of Capitalism and its effect on the Third World while wearing a $150 J.Crew cashmere sweater, and listen only to World Music or experimental rock. And the Black-Eyed Peas.
Lyrically, however, I am dumbfounded. In a recent interview, Chris Martin said that he wants to write songs that are relateable, "songs a guy wants to sing to his girlfriend." That goal is fine, but when your lyrics resemble something an 8th grader would write, you might be doing something wrong. 14 year olds should be saying something along the lines of "I wish I could write like that" instead of "I can write that" after listening to your album. A great example comes from the eigth track, 'A Message': "My song is love, is love unknown / And I’ve got to get that message home." Or from 'Fix You,' the unsurprising lyric: "And I will try to fix you."
When he isn't singing about puppy love, Chris throws out stuff like "Hundreds of years in the future / There could be computers / Looking for life on earth / Don’t fight for the wrong side / Say what you feel like / Say how you feel" on 'Twisted Logic.' WTF, Chris? Computers in the future? Come on, man. Leave the paranoid, incomprehensible, apocalyptic ranting to Thom Yorke. This is the same band that wrote a great collection of subtle lyrics in 'Parachutes.' Can those guys write the next album?
After listening to 'Parachutes,' with its piano driven songs and sensitive soul, I thought Coldplay would be a great band to see in a small club. 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' had me picturing them in a concert hall. 'X&Y' is expansive - there's that word again - enough that arenas and amplitheatres are now appropriate venues, though I would still rather see them in a smaller setting.
This album sounds big, but it doesn't have a lot to say. It's sound and fury....you can see where I am going. But this is just part of growing pains. U2's third album was 'War,' which is a kickass album, but is easily surpassed by their next offering, 'The Unforgettable Fire.' What I am getting at is that this album is good enough and different enough that people are still going to be interested in Coldplay when Album #4 comes out in three years. In the meantime, 'X&Y' is enough to tide you over.
Music: A
Lyrics: B-
As a whole: B+
This is a good album. Not great. Probably not better than 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' or 'Parachutes,' but not much worse either. Basically, a middle of the road offering, which is kind of disappointing.
But, I am encouraged by some signs of progress.
This album is, for lack of a better term, more expansive in scope than the band's previous collections. It sounds big, mainly through echoing guitars and an ethereal quality that is somewhat reminiscent of a few tracks on 'Parachutes' that caused everyone to refer to the band as the next Radiohead. But if we are going to describe albums by comparing them to influences, then 'X&Y' can best be described as the spawn of mid-90s Radiohead and late-90s U2 (even some Duran Duran!). You know, the Radiohead that put out albums like 'The Bends' and the U2 that was searching for its way after 'Pop' (which I didn't think was nearly as bad as a lot of people make it out to be). What results are songs that sound like they are floating but still driving forward, if that makes any sense.
The 12-track album (minus the hidden track) is split into an 'X' side and a 'Y' side (you have to imagine the sides), which, if read in the most obvious manner, could represent a male side and a female side. While trying to make something out of this analysis, which is my own I should say, all I could really come up with is that the first 6 tracks deal with masculine feelings of reassessment and the second 6 are about how girls make guys feel funny. So, you know, its about feelings and stuff, which shouldn't be surprising from a man who named his kid Apple.
I think the album sounds great. Musically, this is a step forward. Granted, it is not as big a step as the band took between 'Parachutes' and 'A Rush of Blood to the Head,' but it is still a step. They have managed to forge their own sound for the most part and it is one that has legs. People don't get tired of the type of music that Coldplay makes, which bodes well for them careerwise. People who don't like the type of music that Coldplay makes are the type of people who only watch subtitled art films while eating $12 tofu tacos and drinking French beer, complaining about the perils of Capitalism and its effect on the Third World while wearing a $150 J.Crew cashmere sweater, and listen only to World Music or experimental rock. And the Black-Eyed Peas.
Lyrically, however, I am dumbfounded. In a recent interview, Chris Martin said that he wants to write songs that are relateable, "songs a guy wants to sing to his girlfriend." That goal is fine, but when your lyrics resemble something an 8th grader would write, you might be doing something wrong. 14 year olds should be saying something along the lines of "I wish I could write like that" instead of "I can write that" after listening to your album. A great example comes from the eigth track, 'A Message': "My song is love, is love unknown / And I’ve got to get that message home." Or from 'Fix You,' the unsurprising lyric: "And I will try to fix you."
When he isn't singing about puppy love, Chris throws out stuff like "Hundreds of years in the future / There could be computers / Looking for life on earth / Don’t fight for the wrong side / Say what you feel like / Say how you feel" on 'Twisted Logic.' WTF, Chris? Computers in the future? Come on, man. Leave the paranoid, incomprehensible, apocalyptic ranting to Thom Yorke. This is the same band that wrote a great collection of subtle lyrics in 'Parachutes.' Can those guys write the next album?
After listening to 'Parachutes,' with its piano driven songs and sensitive soul, I thought Coldplay would be a great band to see in a small club. 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' had me picturing them in a concert hall. 'X&Y' is expansive - there's that word again - enough that arenas and amplitheatres are now appropriate venues, though I would still rather see them in a smaller setting.
This album sounds big, but it doesn't have a lot to say. It's sound and fury....you can see where I am going. But this is just part of growing pains. U2's third album was 'War,' which is a kickass album, but is easily surpassed by their next offering, 'The Unforgettable Fire.' What I am getting at is that this album is good enough and different enough that people are still going to be interested in Coldplay when Album #4 comes out in three years. In the meantime, 'X&Y' is enough to tide you over.
Music: A
Lyrics: B-
As a whole: B+
posted by The Humble Best at 11:47 AM
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