Disco de Coldplay: “X&Y”

Thanks to the relentless punch of the publicity machine, we all know that Coldplay now has a new album, and as it happens, "X & Y" turns out to be a good one. It's been a wild ride for the English band. Since their 2002 "A Rush of Blood to the Head," Coldplay have turned into international superstars, often inviting comparisons to U2 (and the comparisons are fairly accurate, as far as this reviewer is concerned) and developing a diverse mix of fans. Coldplay's latest album treads familiar ground, with a few welcome surprises and more of the same brand of sweeping rock listeners have come to expect. A moody piano, a subtle string section, and Chris Martin's earnest voice highlight the ballad "What If," while "White Shadows" is a mellow rocker whose guitar recalls the Edge from U2. But the song that almost made my jaw drop is "Talk," which steals the hook from "Computer Love" by Kraftwerk (I am not kidding). Coldplay influenced by the German synth quartet? Yes, it's true. The rest of the album follows a similar pattern: big sweeping melodies, choruses that soar kite-high, and no real duds. While odds are "X & Y" will be just as big a multiplatinum seller as its predecessor, it should also prove that Coldplay is more than "That British Band Whose Lead Singer Married That Hollywood Actress."

The recipe for Coldplay's massive commercial success with their "X&Y" album is simple--first, have some incredibly banal, faux-uplifting, lowest common denominator lyrics on hand; start the tune off with an atmospheric, drumless intro; then steadily build up to a 'big', 'anthemic', densely-produced chorus; end the song with a little outro to ease the listener out of the song. Then, repeat the process until there's enough material to fill out a full album. Oh, and give the album's first single--"Speed Of Sound"--an opening piano riff that's a virtual clone of the one from their previous smash hit "Clocks".

That's essentially what's going on here. I'm not denying that the band has talent for nicely-produced, tuneful pop-rock songs that are sometimes even ear-catching. The thing is though, these guys are trying to turn basically every song into some kind of soul-stirring anthem, and that's simply never going to happen with such consistently lame, obvious, witless, and crassly-calculated lyrics about how they will "try to fix you" and how "you don't have to be alone". To put it another way, the 'hugeness' of the music is incompatible with the thinness of the lyrics, and it really gets to be disheartening by the end of the album.

I'll admit that Chris Martin's vocal delivery isn't BAD. He does have a nice falsetto, and he knows how to use it effectively, sometimes when you're not expecting it. Frankly, he even manages to beat Bono at his own game--Martin's vocals aren't nearly as pretentious and overblown as Bono's are. However, it's still laughable how Martin takes the shallow lyrics so damn seriously all the time as if they're high poetry--the melodically toothless intro on "Swallowed In The Sea" is the most eyeroll-inducing example of this.

Musically, the band does have talent. Nice use of atmospherics, bass lines, and overtones help make the music highly listenable--their co-producers Danton Supple and Ken Nelson probably deserve at least some of the credit for this. The group also knows a thing or two about assimilating musical influences--they neatly weave Kraftwerk's "Computer Love" melody into "Talk" (the composers of the original "Computer Love" ARE credited here in the booklet); the bit before the chorus on "Speed Of Sound" instantly recalls "Running Up That Hill" by Kate Bush, another influence the band has openly admitted to.

The only way I can understand anyone thinking this album is a masterpiece is because they simply haven't listened to that much music. I mean, it's 2006, folks. This album, which came out in June of last year, really doesn't offer us anything musically that hadn't already been done, and with far better lyrics matched to it. If you took a really talented lyricist and singer, a Jackson Browne for instance, and stuck him in front of Coldplay, the difference could be tremendous, supplying the group with an emotional center that it so desperately lacks. As it is, the group remains stuck at, ahem, "Square One"--okay, okay, not THAT bad (sorry, I couldn't resist), but you get the idea.

Coldplay's X&Y shows a decent amount of variation from previous recordings, such as their famed A Rush Of Blood To The Head (which by the way is a great CD as well). In that CD, they were well in boundaries of contemporary rock and most definetly set a standard upon themselves for future records that would be just as outstanding. X&Y is this record (hopefully one of the many to come). Coldplay's songs seem to be uncomparable (ie: you can't compare bluegrass with heavymetal) to their previous recordings. Personally, I was instantly spellbound by Fix You, and the excellent way that they use the instruments to create an atmosphere that is so captivating. Additionally, the vocals provide an even better sound to it. What If? is a slow ballad that starts off with the piano. It's the only song that is comparable to songs such as Everythings Not Lost, Beautiful World, and The Scientist to name a few. Honestly, the very beginning off X&Y was quite different. I was expecting a gradual change like from the orchestral background or piano into the vocal parts, however it just started of with the melody. At first I wasn't so big for it, but as a previous reviewer says, after you listen to it a lot you get used to it and it sounds quite normal. Speed Of Sound is another cool song, the melody is upbeat and the whole song is great. One final point I have to make is that Coldplay definitely is a music group that spends time on their songs and makes the best of that time. Lots of artists out their come out with new CD's in months, but the quality is just not there. Coldplay takes a little while for their CD's but the songs are so good they could last till a couple more of their CDs came out. X&Y is definitely a must get.

Don't get me wrong, I love this CD, Coldplay is one of my favorite bands and I see them in concert every time they come to Seattle. HOWEVER, some of you may know about the Sony rootkit fiasco, where Sony installed what was essentially spyware on the computers of people that bought the CD, it appears that Virgin is doing the same thing. If you buy this CD and you are on a Windows PC, make sure, before you put the CD into your drive that you turn off AutoRun.

A new instance of Draconian copy protection... From the CD Usage guidelines inside the packaging (verbatim):

"This CD cannot be burnt onto a CD-R or hard disk, nor can it be converted into MP3 for file sharing.

This CD has been manufactured for usage in regular CD players, but might not play in the following players:

-- Some CD players that have the capability of burning into an MP3 (such as portable players or car stereos)

-- Some CD players that possess CD-R/RW functions (such as portable players or car stereos)

-- Some car stereos with satellite "Guidance" systems

-- Som CD players or car stereos with hard disk recording capability

-- Come CD-R/RW Recorders used for music

-- Some portable CD players

-- Some DVD players

-- Some CD/LD convertible players

-- Some Game Players

Although you can use your PC's Windows program to listen to certain tracks, this does not mean that the CD can be played in all PCs.

-- The first time this program is used (in Windows automatic starter software) it gets registered in a Windows File. Thus, programs already registered do not affect Windows operation.

-- Windows OS also uses the latest files.

This CD does not support Macintosh PC software.

-- EXCEPT FOR MANUFACTURING PROBLEMS, WE DO NOT ACCEPT PRODUCT EXCHANGE, RETURN OR REFUND.

In other words--- you may not be a criminal, but you are a chump.

No thanks.