If you loved Rush of Blood but hated X&Y, don’t give up on Coldplay yet. Viva La Vida helps them regain their status, and come closer to their “We wanna be U2” goal.
Coldplay’s fourth album has been said to be their experimental and political record, and in certain circumstances it is. However, Chris Martin seems to be attempting to say how he feels without pissing anyone off.
As most people know, sometimes when you’re considering others’ opinions you put more effort into politeness than you do in saying what you’re really thinking. Which always makes your point…well less of a point.
Martin does a good job in providing something different than what we’re used to. In previous albums it was hard to find anything other than a lead piano.
This time with the help of Brian Eno, who ,by the way, produced a few of U2’s albums, brings Coldplay into a different realm of worldly beats and U2-ish guitar.
The lyrics are rhyme-y as usual but this time, Chris Martin refrains from repeating the chorus over and over again like he did in “Fix you” from X&Y, and focuses on issues of war, religion and love. While simultaneously dropping
his normally high voice a few thousand octaves.
In “Violet Hill” he sings “I don’t want to be a soldier/Who the captain of some sinking ship would stow far below” and later adds “bury me in armor” So is he suggesting he wants to be some great soldier who helps win the war?
If so, then what’s going on in “Lovers in Japan” when he sings, “Soldiers you’ve got to soldier on/Sometimes even the right is wrong.” Is he actually trying to have a peace anthem or some type of ‘carry on noble soldier’ song? Can you have both? Well if you’re Coldplay you can!
This is not to say that they can’t make up their mind and are trying to be everything to everyone…well maybe it is. But that’s not a bad thing, it does sell records and when I say records I mean millions.
And, Viva is completely different from X&Y, which almost made me hate them. Viva La Vida has everything a Coldplay fan could want. It’s reminiscent of earlier albums without falling into a rut and sounding redundant.
It’s got new sound and is a little more experimental than albums in the past and doesn’t loose the “Coldplay appeal” that we have all come to love. Overall it’s a good album with a good mix in sound.