"And Now For Something Slightly Different"

Coldplay - Viva La Vida or Death and all His Friends

Record Label: EMI 2008
Produced by: Markus Dravs, Brain Eno and Rik Simpson

Track Listing:
1. Life in Technicolor
2. Cemeteries of London
3. Lost!
4. 42
5. Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love
6. Yes
7. Viva La Vida
8. Violet Hill
9. Strawberry Hill
10. Death and All His Friends

Seems the biggest drawback to omnipotence is the relative ease people have to criticize and ridicule. You become a target simply because you’re everywhere, too ubiquitous to be overlooked. You’re either loved or hated.

It’s amazing how public perception has both grown and diverged drastically since the group first broke onto the music scene – rather quietly, in 2000 with their debut album Parachutes. Back then it was cool and OK to like Coldplay simply because they were so new (instant cool) and in the periphery (differently cool). Most people hadn’t heard of them so they were that little musical secret you shared with your closest friends.

That secret ceased to exist with the second album A Rush of Blood to the Head, which vaulted them into meaningful cultural existence followed by their third album X & Y, which brought them such praise, disdain and prominence, they were no longer just a phenomenon to be admired but, for some, a bloated entity to be hated.

Coldplay had achieved critical mass. They were now well beyond drums and guitars, impossible to ignore. Every fan they gained likely meant one they would lose. Popularity is equated, in some circles, to selling one’s soul.

But has this band changed that much in eight years? Didn’t they used to be alternative cool? Well yes, and yes.

Each of the first three albums essentially built a bridge to the next one. The simple riffs and choruses of Parachutes gave way to more depth and sound on A Rush of Blood to the Head, which led directly into the fused melodies and anthemic rock of X & Y. Coldplay, as with other larger-than-life bands like U2 and the Rolling Stones, had pretty much developed a formula. They had become so good at what they did, it seemed too easy and thus too contrived.

And now we have the release of the Viva La Vida, the group’s fourth album, and unquestionably their most unique. But don’t equate “unique” as being experimental. This is no Sgt. Pepper. Coldplay wandering into sonically-uncharted waters isn’t as scary or as daring as it may sound. They are still a band based on simple melodies and repetitive riffs. They still produce arena rock, just this time, the whole album isn’t full of it.

Sure, there are probably four tunes that might make it as singles – the infectious Violet Hill alone will sell a half million CDs – but the rest of Viva La Vida is disjointed, mildly audacious and kind of fun. It’s as if the band has smugly challenged both their fans and foes by offering something 50% non-Coldplayish. The album’s first track, Life in Technicolor, is really nothing more than rhythmic play-in music, with no lyrical anthems to satiate those wanting to sing along. Reign of Love has this undulating keyboard symmetry reminiscent of something New Ager Enya would produce.

If you like basses and violins and full symphonic flourishes, you’re likely to love this album. If you want your Coldplay to be a little less predictable and take some small, calculated risks, again, you’ll love this album. Viva La Vida promises to strengthen their fan base while creating a new breed of contrarians who hate the band’s new artistic posturing. Whatever side you end up on says a lot about what you came in expecting and what you’re willing to accept from one of the world’s true musical icons.


www.myspace.com/coldplay