Coldplay

A lot of people love to hate Coldplay. They’re easy to hate—the same way U2 is easy to hate. There’s an inherent ease to despising bands that have conquered the world and are guaranteed to sell a bazillion records (that’s an estimate). Sometimes I wish I hated Coldplay, simply for my own cool factor. Unfortunately (or is it fortunately?), I don’t hate this band. In fact, I’m quite fond of them, and Viva La Vida only adds to that fondness.

2005’s X&Y was the proof needed to realize Coldplay was the new U2—the new “biggest band in the universe” rocking stadium-sized anthems while reminding you to feed the poor. With tracks like “Fix You,” ampitheaters on all sides of the globe sang along with cell phones and lighters aglow. It was clear then, as it is now, that Coldplay would carry the “new U2” torch Radiohead has shrugged.

To be honest, Coldplay really wants you to realize that they’re the new U2. Chris Martin’s all too willing to be the new Bono when it comes to interviews and dancing around stage, and Jonny Buckland’s guitar tone gets “Edgier” by the year. Not to mention, what better way to parade the U2 comparisons than hiring Brian Eno to produce what should rightly be Coldplay’s Joshua Tree?

Eno has produced more change-of-pace albums than just about anybody (short of maybe Rick Rubin). Coldplay certainly intended this album to be their grand switcheroo, but Kid A or Achtung Baby it is not. Regardless, Eno cuts a lot of the fat from the band’s sometimes-bloated X&Y sound and pushes them in enough of a new direction to achieve Coldplay’s most artistic and impressive work to date.

Rest assured Eno twists and turns the knobs his way on Viva la Vida, kicking off with a semi-instrumental piece titled “Life in Technicolor” whose electronic doodling screams, “Brian Eno produced this album!” A few tracks tinker with foreign sounds—literally: “Cemeteries of London” chants at a Spanish soccer game, “Lost” experiments with a South American drum line, and “Strawberry Swing” heads tribal with its pounding drum backing a very far Eastern guitar line. That’s nothing new for an Eno-produced album (see Eno and David Byrne’s My Life in the Bush of Ghosts or Talking Heads’ Remain in Light).

With Eno’s help, Coldplay comes off as a far more confident band on this album (more so than most of Martin’s interviews would have you think). The band leaves behind a lot of their staples—even failing to write yet another version of “Clocks”/”Speed of Sound” or “The Scientist”/”Fix You” for Viva.  On “42” the band brings in a soaring guitar line that reminds me of [gasp] Radiohead, and then there’s the audacity to reach toward [double gasp] My Bloody Valentine on the “hidden” track “Chinese Sleep Chant” (second half of the song “Yes!”). Martin’s piano takes a back seat on about three quarters of the album, and he rarely reduces himself to the straight 4/4 playing of songs like “The Scientist” and “Politik.” Finally, Martin even eschews his trademark falsetto for a deep growl on “Yes!,” and he uses that falsetto sparingly to far greater effect on tracks like “Violet Hill” and “Chinese Sleep Chant.”

This album isn’t perfect, however, and I hope that this won’t turn out to be Coldplay’s best effort when their career is finished. Martin’s lyrics are still too black and white (hence the album title’s nod towards life and death), and he occasionally dabbles in bland metaphors (“You might be a big fish in a little pond”). He rarely achieves the bitter social angst of Thom Yorke or the intense earnestness of Bono, usually falling in the murky in-between. Nonetheless, Viva la Vida is a giant step towards remedying this problem.

Whether it was their intention or not, Coldplay did not make their Joshua Tree. They didn’t throw us all for a complete loop a la Achtung Baby or Kid A either. However, they did give us an album that shows a seasoned band finally trying to carve out a sound of their own—even if it still wears a few influences on it’s sleeve. I really like this album, and I hope that it provides me some musical happiness for an extended time. Unfortunately, after X&Y grew boring so quickly, I’m “still waiting for the shine to wear off.” Let’s hope it doesn’t.

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