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Post by The Escapist on Oct 22, 2021 8:43:09 GMT -5
It's a tough one. Eno-Coldplay is definitely peak-Coldplay, for me. The lyrics are by far and away their best, the music is the most vibrant and varied while both albums have a distinct mood to them, it combined massive global hits with art-y influences (having one of the biggest songs of the decade with an orchestra loop and lyrics about the French Revolution, if Arcade Fire did that you'd never hear the end of it), and I'd argue that was their peak as a live act, as well. It's telling that so many of their most vibrant songs even now were born from the Eno sessions - Arabesque comes from then, as does ALIENS.
But on the other hand, that era - particularly Viva - was such a reaction to X&Y. The drab sound, long songs, bloated tracklist, plain lyrics of that record. Eno came in with the job to invert all those things: colourful sounds, sharper songs, shorter albums, more vivid lyricism. It worked. But X&Y is a distant memory, now. What do they really have to react against? If they were to work with him again, I think the pitch would have to be "Push the band to their extremes". Coloratura shows they still have the talent to write unique pieces with strong lyrics and an ambitious sound. Eno would have to be there to stress those ideas, use their creative freedom and fuel them with it to new heights (again). And it's not as if they can't do that while crafting hits:
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 22, 2021 9:56:36 GMT -5
Coldplay are at their creative best when it’s the four members being featured heavily. All extremely talented. That is when they really cook up the goods. Keep in mind Brian Eno is like 74 years old. He might not be as fresh as he once was. That would be like George Martin producing an Oasis album which is once what the kids said on the net back in the late 90s. Jeez, I always think he's still 60. Now I recall it, I think he said he's finished with producing albums for other acts. Eno is now older than George Martin was in 1998 when on early AOL messageboards people were dreaming up potential producers for album 4. At the time I considered Martin to be an old man well past his prime and that suggestion seemed silly to me. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 22, 2021 10:01:25 GMT -5
It's a tough one. Eno-Coldplay is definitely peak-Coldplay, for me. The lyrics are by far and away their best, the music is the most vibrant and varied while both albums have a distinct mood to them, it combined massive global hits with art-y influences (having one of the biggest songs of the decade with an orchestra loop and lyrics about the French Revolution, if Arcade Fire did that you'd never hear the end of it), and I'd argue that was their peak as a live act, as well. It's telling that so many of their most vibrant songs even now were born from the Eno sessions - Arabesque comes from then, as does ALIENS. But on the other hand, that era - particularly Viva - was such a reaction to X&Y. The drab sound, long songs, bloated tracklist, plain lyrics of that record. Eno came in with the job to invert all those things: colourful sounds, sharper songs, shorter albums, more vivid lyricism. It worked. But X&Y is a distant memory, now. What do they really have to react against? If they were to work with him again, I think the pitch would have to be "Push the band to their extremes". Coloratura shows they still have the talent to write unique pieces with strong lyrics and an ambitious sound. Eno would have to be there to stress those ideas, use their creative freedom and fuel them with it to new heights (again). And it's not as if they can't do that while crafting hits: Arcade Fire has a song like that kinda. “Everything Now”. It is their biggest US hit for sure. Those swirling keyboards and disco groove really have that song firing on all cylinders. What a start to that album! Like being shot out of a cannon. The difference however is AF is never gonna play the PR game or kiss any asses like Coldplay does. That band is way too moody. |
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 22, 2021 10:32:44 GMT -5
It's a tough one. Eno-Coldplay is definitely peak-Coldplay, for me. The lyrics are by far and away their best, the music is the most vibrant and varied while both albums have a distinct mood to them, it combined massive global hits with art-y influences (having one of the biggest songs of the decade with an orchestra loop and lyrics about the French Revolution, if Arcade Fire did that you'd never hear the end of it), and I'd argue that was their peak as a live act, as well. It's telling that so many of their most vibrant songs even now were born from the Eno sessions - Arabesque comes from then, as does ALIENS. But on the other hand, that era - particularly Viva - was such a reaction to X&Y. The drab sound, long songs, bloated tracklist, plain lyrics of that record. Eno came in with the job to invert all those things: colourful sounds, sharper songs, shorter albums, more vivid lyricism. It worked. But X&Y is a distant memory, now. What do they really have to react against? If they were to work with him again, I think the pitch would have to be "Push the band to their extremes". Coloratura shows they still have the talent to write unique pieces with strong lyrics and an ambitious sound. Eno would have to be there to stress those ideas, use their creative freedom and fuel them with it to new heights (again). And it's not as if they can't do that while crafting hits: Arcade Fire has a song like that kinda. “Everything Now”. It is their biggest US hit for sure. Those swirling keyboards and disco groove really have that song firing on all cylinders. What a start to that album! Like being shot out of a cannon. The difference however is AF is never gonna play the PR game or kiss any asses like Coldplay does. That band is way too moody. I don't see the comparison, really - Viva la Vida was a completely different sound than anything Coldplay had done before, it has a Spanish title, lyrics about the French Revolution, came when people doubted them and single-handedly gave their career a whole new wind. Everything Now is a great song, but you could argue it's basically a Reflektor track with more pop and less unique lyrics. I love Arcade Fire, love that song, but it's certainly nowhere near as unique or massive as Viva la Vida, which is the point. The irony, of course, is that Viva-Coldplay is clearly influenced by the Funeral sound, but that's part of Eno-Coldplay's magic: like The Beatles before them, they took the artier sounds around them and incorporated them into smash-hit-classics that no other band could write, no matter how much PR they tried to do. Viva, in particular, is special. It'll be a while before another band comes back with a whole new sound and turns lyrics like these into a global behemoth: It was a wicked and wild wind,
blew down the doors to let me in -
shattered windows and the sound of drums,
and people couldn't believe what I'd become.
Revolutionaries wait
for my head on a silver plate,
just a puppet on a lonely string,
oh, who would ever want to be king?
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing,
Roman Calvary choirs are singing -
be my mirror, my sword and shield,
my missionaries in a foreign field.
For some reason I can't explain,
I know Saint Peter won't call my name -
never an honest word...
but that was when I ruled the world. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 22, 2021 11:10:37 GMT -5
Arcade Fire has a song like that kinda. “Everything Now”. It is their biggest US hit for sure. Those swirling keyboards and disco groove really have that song firing on all cylinders. What a start to that album! Like being shot out of a cannon. The difference however is AF is never gonna play the PR game or kiss any asses like Coldplay does. That band is way too moody. I don't see the comparison, really - Viva la Vida was a completely different sound than anything Coldplay had done before, it has a Spanish title, lyrics about the French Revolution, came when people doubted them and single-handedly gave their career a whole new wind. Everything Now is a great song, but you could argue it's basically a Reflektor track with more pop and less unique lyrics. I love Arcade Fire, love that song, but it's certainly nowhere near as unique or massive as Viva la Vida, which is the point. The irony, of course, is that Viva-Coldplay is clearly influenced by the Funeral sound, but that's part of Eno-Coldplay's magic: like The Beatles before them, they took the artier sounds around them and incorporated them into smash-hit-classics that no other band could write, no matter how much PR they tried to do. Viva, in particular, is special. It'll be a while before another band comes back with a whole new sound and turns lyrics like these into a global behemoth: It was a wicked and wild wind,
blew down the doors to let me in -
shattered windows and the sound of drums,
and people couldn't believe what I'd become.
Revolutionaries wait
for my head on a silver plate,
just a puppet on a lonely string,
oh, who would ever want to be king?
I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing,
Roman Calvary choirs are singing -
be my mirror, my sword and shield,
my missionaries in a foreign field.
For some reason I can't explain,
I know Saint Peter won't call my name -
never an honest word...
but that was when I ruled the world.I think you are digging too deep. I meant they are both extremely catchy singles. Both are the “biggest” singles of their career. Coldplay is massively influenced by the mid 2000s AF. Coldplay even took Markus Dravs who produced Neon Bible, The Suburbs Reflektor and Everything Now to help produce/engineer Coldplay on Viva and Mylo. It was Win’s suggest to Chris to hire him. It was actually Dravs who did all the hands on work for Viva and Mylo. I know Eno gets the pub but Dravs was right there all the way. |
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 22, 2021 11:22:32 GMT -5
I don't see the comparison, really - Viva la Vida was a completely different sound than anything Coldplay had done before, it has a Spanish title, lyrics about the French Revolution, came when people doubted them and single-handedly gave their career a whole new wind. Everything Now is a great song, but you could argue it's basically a Reflektor track with more pop and less unique lyrics. I love Arcade Fire, love that song, but it's certainly nowhere near as unique or massive as Viva la Vida, which is the point. The irony, of course, is that Viva-Coldplay is clearly influenced by the Funeral sound, but that's part of Eno-Coldplay's magic: like The Beatles before them, they took the artier sounds around them and incorporated them into smash-hit-classics that no other band could write, no matter how much PR they tried to do. Viva, in particular, is special. It'll be a while before another band comes back with a whole new sound and turns lyrics like these into a global behemoth: I think you are digging too deep. I meant they are both extremely catchy singles. Both are the “biggest” singles of their career. Coldplay is massively influenced by the mid 2000s AF. Coldplay even took Markus Dravs who produced Neon Bible, The Suburbs Reflektor and Everything Now to help produce/engineer Coldplay on Viva and Mylo. It was Win’s suggest to Chris to hire him. It was actually Dravs who did all the hands on work for Viva and Mylo. I know Eno gets the pub but Dravs was right there all the way. My point wasn't just that Viva la Vida was catchy and popular, though. Coldplay have dozens of songs like that. Arcade Fire have a few themselves. So do Mumford and Sons. The point is that the creative rejuvenation that Eno helped inspire in Coldplay allowed them to craft songs that were not only more vibrant and unique than most of the bands around them, but also some of the very biggest hits of their respective decades. Everything Now is a fun pop-disco banger, but it can't claim to have either the arty, lyrical nature of Viva la Vida nor the global smash popularity. That's why I made the comparison to Arcade Fire in the first place, really. They're a band that have (had?) a lot of indie-cred; if they had ever managed to conjure a Spanish-titled song with lyrics that evoked the storming of historical palaces, cooked out of a different sound to anything they had done before, and then have it be one of the biggest songs of the decade, it would be seen as proof of their genius. With Coldplay, it's just not spoken about. If it is, it's balanced out with cynicism about the catchiness of the strings loop or the iconic refrain. Ah, well. As matt says, if you know you know. 2008-2012 Coldplay was different gravy, as Aguero would say. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 22, 2021 11:27:09 GMT -5
I think you are digging too deep. I meant they are both extremely catchy singles. Both are the “biggest” singles of their career. Coldplay is massively influenced by the mid 2000s AF. Coldplay even took Markus Dravs who produced Neon Bible, The Suburbs Reflektor and Everything Now to help produce/engineer Coldplay on Viva and Mylo. It was Win’s suggest to Chris to hire him. It was actually Dravs who did all the hands on work for Viva and Mylo. I know Eno gets the pub but Dravs was right there all the way. My point wasn't just that Viva la Vida was catchy and popular, though. Coldplay have dozens of songs like that. Arcade Fire have a few themselves. So do Mumford and Sons. The point is that the creative rejuvenation that Eno helped inspire in Coldplay allowed them to craft songs that were not only more vibrant and unique than most of the bands around them, but also some of the very biggest hits of their respective decades. Everything Now is a fun pop-disco banger, but it can't claim to have either the arty, lyrical nature of Viva la Vida nor the global smash popularity. That's why I made the comparison to Arcade Fire in the first place, really. They're a band that have (had?) a lot of indie-cred; if they had ever managed to conjure a Spanish-titled song with lyrics that evoked the storming of historical palaces, cooked out of a different sound to anything they had done before, and then have it be one of the biggest songs of the decade, it would be seen as proof of their genius. With Coldplay, it's just not spoken about. If it is, it's balanced out with cynicism about the catchiness of the strings loop or the iconic refrain. Ah, well. As matt says, if you know you know. 2008-2012 Coldplay was different gravy, as Aguero would say. Well the second half of my post is that AF was never gonna play the game you need to play to get massive global hit singles. Even if they cooked one up, they aren’t gonna do the things you need to do get it where it needs to go. Countless tv appearances, interviews, award shows, magazine covers, commercials, iPod ads. Coldplay was everywhere in 2008-2009. Coldplay basically willed Higher Power into being a big “hit” single even though it’s nowhere near the artistic quality of many of their prior singles like Viva. |
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 22, 2021 11:47:13 GMT -5
My point wasn't just that Viva la Vida was catchy and popular, though. Coldplay have dozens of songs like that. Arcade Fire have a few themselves. So do Mumford and Sons. The point is that the creative rejuvenation that Eno helped inspire in Coldplay allowed them to craft songs that were not only more vibrant and unique than most of the bands around them, but also some of the very biggest hits of their respective decades. Everything Now is a fun pop-disco banger, but it can't claim to have either the arty, lyrical nature of Viva la Vida nor the global smash popularity. That's why I made the comparison to Arcade Fire in the first place, really. They're a band that have (had?) a lot of indie-cred; if they had ever managed to conjure a Spanish-titled song with lyrics that evoked the storming of historical palaces, cooked out of a different sound to anything they had done before, and then have it be one of the biggest songs of the decade, it would be seen as proof of their genius. With Coldplay, it's just not spoken about. If it is, it's balanced out with cynicism about the catchiness of the strings loop or the iconic refrain. Ah, well. As matt says, if you know you know. 2008-2012 Coldplay was different gravy, as Aguero would say. Well the second half of my post is that AF was never gonna play the game you need to play to get massive global hit singles. Even if they cooked one up, they aren’t gonna do the things you need to do get it where it needs to go. Countless tv appearances, interviews, award shows, magazine covers, commercials, iPod ads. Coldplay was everywhere in 2008-2009. Coldplay basically willed Higher Power into being a big “hit” single even though it’s nowhere near the artistic quality of many of their prior singles like Viva. Arcade Fire could have done as much press as they wanted at any point for anything, they'd never have a song as big as Viva la Vida. That's the point: the magic of Eno-Coldplay was the ability to take the artier sounds of the bands around them and incorporate them into the DNA of global mega-hits that those other bands simply couldn't write. It's like Noel in Oasis; it's easy to call his pop-melodies simple, but to write songs that instant and timeless and massive, takes a talent that 99% of bands simply don't contain. And to pen them with an ink formed not just of the pop sounds of the time, but with more vibrant influences from other sections of music, that's another level of talent again. Eno-Coldplay had that, and it never showed better than on Viva la Vida. There's no Arcade Fire song to compare it to, I'm afraid. It's something very few bands are able to achieve. The Beatles had it. U2 at their best. Pink Floyd. And for a while, Coldplay. But their lack of indie-cred and their MOR reputation means they don't get the credit for it, which is why I made the initial comparison. If a band with a "cooler" reputation had done what Coldplay did in that Eno-era, they would be lauded properly for their achievements. |
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Post by oasisserbia on Oct 22, 2021 12:29:57 GMT -5
Chris Martin isn't musician anymore, he is Gwyneth Paltrow's ex husband now. She was once popular actress, today she is lifestyle guru and she is selling candles that smells like her vagina. Coldplay's new album sounds like Martin and boys made this LP in studio full of those candles.
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Post by Headmaster on Oct 22, 2021 14:12:27 GMT -5
I already see this in full force with some of my friends. You name U2, Radiohead or R.E.M. to them and U2 and R.E.M. are surefire to get the dad rock accusations, and Radiohead gets some surprising indifference (or people singing 'Creep'), or glowing remarks if they're a music fan/indiehead, but Coldplay gets love from a lot of my friends, especially those who are into pop. They're viewed in those circles like how we view R.E.M. or Radiohead in terms of musical genius, originality and creativity, which I don't think is far off in some respects. It's respect in a different way than what we appreciate and the fact that Coldplay can be talked about in high regard, in terms of a poptimistic POV and a rock or indie-centric POV, really says something about the transcendent nature of the band. Truth be told, rock isn't in vogue anymore, I don't see a 16 years old having a connecting with those bands you've cited, maybe U2 but old U2, with Radiohead maybe their most popular songs like Creep or No Surprises, but out of those three bands R.E.M. will suffer the most I guess, maybe some kid will like Losing My Religion and Man on The Moon and that is it, they won't dug deeper into their long 15 albums carrer, Pearl Jam also another band which will have problems with future generations, they already sounded like classic rock in the 90's, but I can see kids having appreciation for Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day. |
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Post by thespiderandthefly on Oct 23, 2021 2:31:58 GMT -5
Watching that Some Might Say video from Knebworth just makes it all the more clear what it means to be the biggest band in the world and how to get there. Songs written alone in a bedroom on an acoustic guitar that capture the human spirit and (one day) make a real and enduring emotional connection to millions of people. Pop music that never pops. And never will.
Coldplay used to do that…but with each passing album, it all feels more insincere, dishonest, and inauthentic. A desperate attempt to remain relevant even if it means sacrificing any and all artistic integrity. In a private moment, I really hope Chris is actually embarrassed about all these collaborations and emoji songs; but more importantly, I hope he’s saddened by making music that might live for hot moment—but then soon be forgotten forever.
Coloratura proves his innate talent lives on, somewhere—but he can’t be proud of this trend.
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 23, 2021 7:29:19 GMT -5
What do we say, kids? We say "Thank you, BTS"!
But, no, these are silly 2021 numbers for a band that emerged out of the same sea as Athlete/Starsailor/Etc...
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 23, 2021 9:39:57 GMT -5
I really hope Chris is actually embarrassed
but more importantly, I hope he’s saddened Always strange to read things like this. You don't get it in almost any other fan spaces. One thing to dislike the vibrations in the air that have been recorded by an artist, but a very strange phenomenon to wish sadness or project a hidden embarrassment onto them for it. I'm not sure that authenticity, whatever that really means, is the root. Because by no reasonable measure is A Sky Full of Stars not as authentic as Some Might Say. Both are simplistic songs, with simplistic lyrics, with gorgeous melodies that captured millions and have the power to light up stadiums. You don't have to like it, you don't have to like Music of the Spheres (Jesus, I think it's mediocre), but there's a slippery slope that starts with "He should be writing on a battered guitar and being authentic" and ends with logging on to forums to hope people you don't know are sad because they've made a track with BTS that you don't like. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 23, 2021 10:18:47 GMT -5
Nice job of Coldplay covering “Nothingman” last night in Seattle. Always a top top Pearl Jam song for me.
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 23, 2021 10:53:19 GMT -5
Nice job of Coldplay covering “Nothingman” last night in Seattle. Always a top top Pearl Jam song for me. You could make a great compilation of out Chris/Coldplay's covers! Some favourites that I remember recently: - Shelter from the Storm (Bob Dylan) - 1999 (Prince) - Graceland (Paul Simon) - We Found Love (Rihanna) - Don't Look Back in Anger (Blur) - Take on Me (A-Ha) |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 23, 2021 11:07:27 GMT -5
Nice job of Coldplay covering “Nothingman” last night in Seattle. Always a top top Pearl Jam song for me. You could make a great compilation of out Chris/Coldplay's covers! Some favourites that I remember recently: - Shelter from the Storm (Bob Dylan) - 1999 (Prince) - Graceland (Paul Simon) - We Found Love (Rihanna) - Don't Look Back in Anger (Blur) - Take on Me (A-Ha) I always dug their covers of “Billie Jean”, “You Only Live Twice” and “Hunting High and Low”. |
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Post by glider on Oct 23, 2021 13:00:06 GMT -5
Chris Martin isn't musician anymore, he is Gwyneth Paltrow's ex husband now. She was once popular actress, today she is lifestyle guru and she is selling candles that smells like her vagina. Coldplay's new album sounds like Martin and boys made this LP in studio full of those candles. They made the album at Chernobyl? |
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Post by World71R on Oct 23, 2021 22:22:11 GMT -5
Nice job of Coldplay covering “Nothingman” last night in Seattle. Always a top top Pearl Jam song for me. You could make a great compilation of out Chris/Coldplay's covers! Some favourites that I remember recently: - Shelter from the Storm (Bob Dylan) - 1999 (Prince) - Graceland (Paul Simon) - We Found Love (Rihanna) - Don't Look Back in Anger (Blur)- Take on Me (A-Ha)   |
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Post by oasisserbia on Oct 24, 2021 2:00:55 GMT -5
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 26, 2021 10:40:03 GMT -5
Chris says their final album will be their twelfth (presumably after the remaining volumes of Music of the Spheres), and it will be self-titled. No word on whether this is FFTF2024, as has been speculated. End times approach!
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Post by matt on Oct 26, 2021 11:07:00 GMT -5
I really hope Chris is actually embarrassed
but more importantly, I hope he’s saddened Always strange to read things like this. You don't get it in almost any other fan spaces. One thing to dislike the vibrations in the air that have been recorded by an artist, but a very strange phenomenon to wish sadness or project a hidden embarrassment onto them for it. I'm not sure that authenticity, whatever that really means, is the root. Because by no reasonable measure is A Sky Full of Stars not as authentic as Some Might Say. Both are simplistic songs, with simplistic lyrics, with gorgeous melodies that captured millions and have the power to light up stadiums. You don't have to like it, you don't have to like Music of the Spheres (Jesus, I think it's mediocre), but there's a slippery slope that starts with "He should be writing on a battered guitar and being authentic" and ends with logging on to forums to hope people you don't know are sad because they've made a track with BTS that you don't like. Fully agree. Are we really getting into a debate about a song singing about sinks being full of dishes and itching dogs being more 'authentic'? Whether it's Some Might Say or My Universe, both songs are joyful. I know very well which one I absolutely adore and it's not the Coldplay song, but who am I to tell some kid who prefers Coldplay 'No!! You MUST like this one better!'. Easy for me to say because I've come to the conclusion that Chris Martin is a better songwriter of pop music than he is of mopey indie kid stuff of the kind they did with Parachutes. I'd rather listen to something which is joyful rather than the white boy middle class self-pitying act that is a millstone around the neck of alt rock acts of the 2000s. There's a market for that, and looking at all the records there is with that vibe, well you can accuse that of being contrived too. Thankfully it never sabotages Coldplay's finest moments but the worst moments of Parachutes and X&Y are at fault for this indie boy niche (A Rush of Blood avoids this pitfall with more worldly concerns thankfully). He may very well be ashamed if nobody liked his music and he was still a 44 year old UCL graduate dancing with aliens, but the fact is he's not because his songs still resonate with millions of other people. Just because it's not us he resonates with, doesn't make his music less valid. He's not a has been like all the other rock acts from the 2000s and there's good reason for that. He still strikes a chord unlike all the knobheads from the rock acts of the 2000s that nobody gives a shit about anymore (Pete Doherty, Kasabian, Razorlight, The Enemy). |
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Post by Lennon2217 on Oct 26, 2021 11:40:52 GMT -5
Chris says their final album will be their twelfth (presumably after the remaining volumes of Music of the Spheres), and it will be self-titled. No word on whether this is FFTF2024, as has been speculated. End times approach! That could still be 10 years out. |
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Post by World71R on Oct 27, 2021 22:16:18 GMT -5
It's sad to listen to Music of the Spheres and not really hear anything that I can come back to on shuffle or listen to for fun. Everyday Life had Champion of the World, Arabesque, Gun, Trouble in Town, Orphans, Church, etc.; AHFOD had Birds, AHFOD, Adventure of a Lifetime, Up&Up, even Everglow.
MOTS just has nothing, besides Colortura, and the band feels so muted in favor of a total Max Martin-ization of the band's sound that turns into something with all flash and no substance, with all recollection of it leaving your brain shortly after you collect it in the first place.
People of the Pride is easily the most disappointing song on the whole album, which is too bad, because it wasn't that long ago that Coldplay was putting out great rock songs like Arabesque and Champion of the World, and now this is all they can muster on their "blockbuster" album. Likewise, with Humankind, it's good and uplifting but it feels so bland and overdone.
On a positive note, though, I know a lot of people have hated on Biutyful (man that title sucks) but there's a certain charm to it I like (I wish they had gone more experimental with it but, wrong album for that). And My Universe is a bop, even if everyone in Coldplay (sans Chris) sounds robotic as hell on it.
This band needs to bring back Brian Eno so badly. Or at least a quality producer who will challenge them to maximize their potential in a vein similar to what Eno did for the band on VLV.
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Post by The Crimson Rambler on Oct 28, 2021 3:26:17 GMT -5
Gonna throw my hat in the ring and say 'Higher Power' is a really solid single. I'm definitely a sucker for the 80's throwback vibe a good number of pop songs have been doing for the last 6-7 years now and this is squarely in that camp. That arpeggiated (?) synth line is superb.
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Post by The Escapist on Oct 28, 2021 15:23:39 GMT -5
It's sad to listen to Music of the Spheres and not really hear anything that I can come back to on shuffle or listen to for fun. Everyday Life had Champion of the World, Arabesque, Gun, Trouble in Town, Orphans, Church, etc.; AHFOD had Birds, AHFOD, Adventure of a Lifetime, Up&Up, even Everglow. MOTS just has nothing, besides Colortura, and the band feels so muted in favor of a total Max Martin-ization of the band's sound that turns into something with all flash and no substance, with all recollection of it leaving your brain shortly after you collect it in the first place. People of the Pride is easily the most disappointing song on the whole album, which is too bad, because it wasn't that long ago that Coldplay was putting out great rock songs like Arabesque and Champion of the World, and now this is all they can muster on their "blockbuster" album. Likewise, with Humankind, it's good and uplifting but it feels so bland and overdone. On a positive note, though, I know a lot of people have hated on Biutyful (man that title sucks) but there's a certain charm to it I like (I wish they had gone more experimental with it but, wrong album for that). And My Universe is a bop, even if everyone in Coldplay (sans Chris) sounds robotic as hell on it. This band needs to bring back Brian Eno so badly. Or at least a quality producer who will challenge them to maximize their potential in a vein similar to what Eno did for the band on VLV. It's funny, I have the opposite idea. Spheres feels, to me, like songs that I could enjoy in the right playlist (Humankind for morning-energy, Human Heart for emotion, My Universe for pop fun) but which doesn't come together for a pleasing whole. I think, in a well-made album, some songs are musical shading. They're not part of the image that the record is creating, they just colour the edges and provide an different angle that adds depth to the overall picture. Think A Whisper, or Chinese Sleep Chant, or BrokEn. Music of the Spheres feels like an album made entirely out of them. The shadings of five different albums, with no glimpse of a central vision that brings an experience together. A sketch of a sketch, with nothing definable drawn out in the haze. |
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Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5