Coldplay: Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

Rating: 6.8/10

Sound: 7
Lyrics: 6
Sound/Production Quality: 8
Impression: 7
Replay Value: 6
Tilt: 7

Release Date: June 12th, 2008
Genre: Alternative Rock, Soft Rock, Brit Rock
Length: 45:53
Key Tracks: Lost!, Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love, Viva la Vida

I'll be the first to admit that I have a British music fetish. This obsession with all things from the UK stems far beyond Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Beatles, Radiohead, Porcupine Tree: the classics of yesterday and the modern classics of alternative and progressive rock. The greatest enigma in British music to me is Coldplay. The word itself brings to mind sounds soft, pathetic, romantic rock and roll from Chris Martin and company, all in the name of promoting veganism and giving your kids weird names. However, even from the get-go, with Yellow and Trouble, Coldplay always found their way onto my airwaves. I'd sing every song, I'd appreciate every falsetto tone from Martin, every drum beat from Will Champion, every chord from Johnny Buckland. As bizarre and taboo as it was at the time, I liked Coldplay. Today, my musical tastes have diverted away from them, but when Viva la Vida came out and took off immediately with Violet Hill and the title track, I couldn't resist having a listen or two. To my surprise, Coldplay was different: they stopped trying to be Radiohead and got back to basics, making decent, everyday, mellow rock from the heart and for the heart. Martin vowed to use less of his falsetto (thank God) on this album and it seems to have worked for him and his bandmates. They've taken more risks, producing longer, broader soundscapes, relying less on their respective instruments and more on everything they don't know how to play, but are willing to find out. It's a refreshing new direction for a band who was just starting to dry up and I can at least appreciate them for that.

Let's start with the creation of the album itself. Viva la Vida was created at a time when the band was in a state of turmoil. X&Y was a massive success, yet Chris Martin felt it was nothing more than repetition (which, in reality, it was). He took on hip-hop projects with Kanye West and Jay-Z and even went as far as saying the new Coldplay record would be hip-hop, leaving fans and music critics alike with an overwhelming sense of WTF. While touring through Latin America, the band began recording new material, taking influence from Hispanic music in Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Spain, among others. The record, produced by Brian Eno, combines a diverse range of instruments, moving away from the Coldplay standards of organ, piano and soft guitars (although organ, piano and soft guitar always have to be present somewhere). Finishing touches in all, the band released Violet Hill and Viva la Vida as singles and a new direction was born for their UK faithful to enjoy.

Sonically, the record begins with Life in Technicolour. The first track may be an intro, but it sets a tone for the entire album (as the band return to this melody on various tracks). It is subtle, synthesized, yet strangely familiar, as we feel as though we are being introduced to the same old Coldplay one more time. Suddenly we arrive at Cemeteries of London, an unbelievably boring track with far too many words. Martin, in an attempt to be an epic storyteller, moves us through a night of fear and repulsive imagery...as it turns out, we are just repulsed, with very little musical movement.

On Lost!, we finally see some of the progress Coldplay has made, as well as the Latin American influence on their music. A beautiful organ beat plays over subtle Hispanic drums that lead into great yet subtle guitar work from Buckland. A song that tells us to always stay on your guard and respect what you have is very relaxed and leaves us with the same sensations. However, I cannot say the same about 42. From simple singing, Coldplay try to escalate us to extreme heights with their standard ensemble, however we're left all over the place: unimpressed with the lyrics and still feeling lost, but whoa, giant soundscape! Where did that come from? While with more work I could have liked it, it left me feeling somewhat cold.

And then we arrive at Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love, the two most beautiful tracks on the album. Lovers in Japan provide a lovely, "Chopsticks"-esque piano movement with subtle guitars and little drum that paint pretty pictures of cherryblossoms in bloom at the base of Mount Fuji. Moving into the chorus, and towards the bridge, the guitars pick up and really drive the song home: a turmultuous portrait of Oriental love. The Reign of Love portion of the show sounds like rain on a window pain; arpeggios along with the subtlty of Chris Martin's voice are soothing and beautiful as compared to the power the album delivers. The album then moves to Yes, another song with two separate movements. The first seems dull and contrived, using strings to thread together a standard piano/guitar duo, never really accomplishing much. The second part, however, is absolutely brilliant. Guitar finally overpowers piano in this movement and we truly see the power of Coldplay's backup crew. It's almost like a shoegazer piece, relying on guitar effects and minimalistic vocals. It's just brilliant. (Fast forward to about the 4-minute mark of Yes for this part).

But alas, we reach the mainstream. Viva la Vida surrounds us with strings: right off the bat, we notice nothing but the subtle strike of the bass drum and strings. However, as we move into the chorus, those strings become much more piercing, making us shiver with excitement, as cymbals clash, bells ring and a faint bass guitar is plucked. It sounds like the orchestral approach of Augustus Caesar or Alexander the Great as the hystorical metaphors are played in full force. Lyrically, it's pretentious and dry, but I'm never listening to the lyrics when it's playing. Then, we have Violet Hill, Coldplay trying too hard to sound like something other than Coldplay. The guitars are bluesly, but not bluesy enough. The drums and bass barely move and the vocals do nothing but annoy and drag on and on. Why this was ever chosen as a single, I'll never know.

Strawberry Swing is just too short. It's annoyingly simple and can never really be anything but a transition. It's also bizarrely happy after Violet Hill and lyrically challenged to the degree of bitterness. Needless to say, I didn't like it. Death and All His Friends is an enigmatic finish to this album. It starts out soft and final, yet becomes epic and spacious out of nowhere. The ending is somewhat confusing and leaves the same feeling of wanting left. All in all, for a 45-minute album, it seems to go by much faster than that. It almost seems like a track is missing, or if a substantial song like Clocks or Speed of Sound could have been put there instead. All in all, it is what it is: a hit and miss experience that leaves new fans intregued and old fans baffled, but for different reasons.