miércoles, 3 de agosto de 2011

Coldplay


Coldplay is a rock band from London. As a matter of fact, they met and start playing together at the University College London. Short after ending up their studies, they got out thier first album. Thier appearance in the world musical scenario got a lot of people really thrilled. However, this emotion has been gradually fading out.
Their first record, Parachutes, showed some resemblance to Radiohead. Nevertheless, it was different. The songs in this CD are closer to pop, even the ones which are not. I don´t know if it is because of the structures used or mainly because of the overall sound of the band. I favor the second option. There is something about Coldplay that makes the listener feels at ease with their music. And they achieve this even in some songs like Clocks, which has an amazing combination of notes which make you feel down or happy, all in one stanza. This first CD is a bit "dark", to say it some way, because of the music, but there are some lyrics that are cheerful. This makes it unique, at least for me.
Afterwards came A rush of blood to the head. EXCELLENT ALBUM. You can definitely note a continuum between this one and Parachutes. The difference is that in A rush we find less songs which may be catalogued as alternative or experimental. In my opinion, this is because every song, being A Whisper the only exception, combine what I mentioned before: some alternative stuff with others that suit most ears. This record shows a more mature band and that is translated into a more composed sound.
Maturity and composure of the band are definitely present in their third album, X&Y. Here we see another step forward in the path of the band´s sound. In their next CD they would change quite a lot, but this third one is in the same line as the previous ones. I have to say this is the Coldplay´s record that I enjoy the most, even when I value more what they did in the first two. Brian Eno work with them in the song by them that I love the most, Low. The influence of Eno is noticeable: the synthesizers began to appear in Coldplay songs at full blast. Another great song is X&Y. There is a shocking accordance between what the music makes you feel and what the lyrics say.
Finally, we find Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. I mentioned Eno before, and Eno has a lot to do with this album. He tried to do what he did with U2 in The Unforgettable Fire but even when the sound of the band did change sensibly, the result was not so successful as the one that U2 had. Despite this, I consider that this is a necessary step and I don’t criticize them so much because of this work. Coldplay is still active and on many occasions some experimentation must be done in order to accomplish an excellent work. Plus, the songs are nice. What made some people disappointed is the fact that they abandoned the sound they had in the first 3 records and took up a more commercial one. But I don’t think the quality is that bad.

Currently, they are working on their new album. Eno is still working with them. There is little to say, though by the only release to date (Every tear drop is a waterfall), it doesn´t look very promising, at least for me. It seems that they are still on the track of Viva la Vida. Let´s hope that they manage to improve the quality and the what they offer in terms of fresh and unique sounds. If you want to surf on YouTube for some tunes that will appear on this record, they have already played some of them in their concerts. Their names are "Hurts like heaven", "Us against the world", "Charlie Brown", "Princess of China" and "Major Minus".
Some tunes:
Charlie Brown (Live at Jimmy Kimmel)


 The Scientist (Beautiful song, amazing video)

Christmas Lights (I know, they have better songs, but the video is really cool and original)

X&Y (Live)

Trouble


Band Members:
Chris Martin (leading vocals, piano, keyboards, second guitar)
Jon Buckland (guitar, backing vocals)
Guy Berryman (bass guitar, backing vocals)
Will Champion (drums, percussion, backing vocals)

Discography:
2000 – Parachutes
2002 – A Rush of Blood to the Head
2003 – Live 2003
2005 – X&Y
2008 – Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
2009 - LeftRightLeftRightLeft (Live)
2011 - Mylo Xyloto (???)
You may also want to check their EPs, since there you can find a lot of extra songs.

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