X&Y

From AwardAnnals

Reviews

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Things have gone ridiculously well for Coldplay since 2002’s A Rush of Blood to the Head. The group’s global album sales have soared past the 10-million mark, putting it in the same stratosphere as megabands U2 and the Dave Matthews Band. People have offered up their bank accounts, cars, and even bodies for tickets to its shows. And, in a interesting twist, frontman Chris Martin married Gwyneth Paltrow and set the tabloid world aflame. Funny thing, then, that the British quartet’s much-anticipated third album, X&Y, is all about staying grounded. In the powerful opener, “Square One,” the singer insists people are fundamentally the same no matter what their stature: “You just want…Somebody listening to what you say,” he sings. On “Fix You,” Martin grapples with imperfection and missed opportunity: “When you love someone but it goes to waste…Could it be worse?” Meanwhile, the vibrant single, “Speed of Sound,” is all about reconnecting with the spirit and soul in the face of the paparazzi’s flashbulbs. Musically, the band has never sounded more adventurous, referencing everyone from Kraftwerk (“Talk”) to the Pogues (“Swallowed in the Sea”), all the while sweeping aside those Radiohead-lite comparisons to embrace a massive, moving sound that makes simplicity seem sublime. —Aidin Vaziri

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Coldplay were faced with a difficult choice as they set to work on X&Y. They could either follow Radiohead’s lead and use their enormous success and financial security as a springboard to a brave experimental future—or they could play it safe, repeat the tricks used on the 16 million-selling A Rush Of Blood To The Head, and consolidate their position as one of the biggest bands in the world.

In truth, despite the Tetris-inspired artwork and presence of teaser track “Talk”—which steals its melody line from electro-futurists Kraftwerk’s gorgeous “Computer Love”—X&Y is more the latter than the former. Fans will be delighted by “What If?”, a piano elegy that takes flight on strings, and slowly builds towards a Beatles’ “A Day In The Life”-style climax, while the likes of “Fix You” and hidden track “’Til Kingdom Come”—originally written for country hero Johnny Cash—proves Martin’s skill for simple, affecting songwriting remains intact. One development, however, comes through the judicious inclusion of some rather pleasant synthesiser work—see “White Shadows”, where Martin gently beseeches “Come on love, stay with me” over a gentle Eno-esque keyboard wash. Fair enough: the experimental albums can come later. —Louis Pattison