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Post by Manualex on May 7, 2021 0:51:09 GMT -5
I had hopes it would go in a rockier direction like for example since u been gone which was produced and written by max Martin. But this is shockingly bad.
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clueso
Madferrit Fan
Posts: 80 
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Post by clueso on May 7, 2021 1:30:12 GMT -5
Really like it i have to admit. Kind of putting Hurts like Heaven and Birds together. The last chorus is great imho, the bassline too.
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Post by defmaybe00 on May 7, 2021 4:08:34 GMT -5
Yeah they've had some very poppy/radiophonic stuff but even their most commercial offers in later years (A Sky Full Of Stars, Princess Of China, Paradise, Adventure Of A Lifetime etc) were at least catchy tunes, this is just...meh There's nothing about it that sticks or makes you want to go back to it I usually love their pop work! Love A Sky Full of Stars, love Adventure of a Lifetime. This isn't the worst thing they've ever done, the production is nice and so is the groove/chorus, but it lacks that killer moment that most Coldplay pop songs have. Feels like a good, throwaway bop, which is fine but disappointing for a lead single. I'm a bit more picky with their super pop stuff, some I actually love (Every Teardrop, Adventure, A Sky Full Of Stars besides the radio production), but even in the ones I dislike I can recognise there's something in there There's not much here, as far as the tune goes It could work well as a bouncy album track, it's certainly not what I'd expected as a lead single |
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Post by The Escapist on May 7, 2021 4:53:22 GMT -5
I usually love their pop work! Love A Sky Full of Stars, love Adventure of a Lifetime. This isn't the worst thing they've ever done, the production is nice and so is the groove/chorus, but it lacks that killer moment that most Coldplay pop songs have. Feels like a good, throwaway bop, which is fine but disappointing for a lead single. I'm a bit more picky with their super pop stuff, some I actually love (Every Teardrop, Adventure, A Sky Full Of Stars besides the radio production), but even in the ones I dislike I can recognise there's something in there There's not much here, as far as the tune goes It could work well as a bouncy album track, it's certainly not what I'd expected as a lead singleMy thoughts exactly. If someone told me this was a random track off LP9, I'd be happy with it! Nice direction for them to go in, a song I can enjoy while it's on. But as a lead single? Disappointing. Doesn't belong in the same universe as tracks like Violet Hill or Every Teardrop is a Waterfall. To give a more full review: THE STRENGTHS:
- The Chorus. Obviously what the song was written around, and it is a chorus worth that treatment. Matches the synthwave sound perfectly and gets stuck in your head after one listen. - The Production. Perhaps the best thing about the track is how it makes me a hell of a lot more confident in Max Martin. It sounds great! Rich, energetic, other-wordly without taking away the pop appeal, and nicely balanced. Some people say you can't hear Johnny, but I'm sure those light arpeggios are his guitar processed. - The Verses. Some people don't like these, but I do. I like that baritone-disco-whispering thing, and I think Chris pulls it off well with a catchy little understated melody. - The Aesthetic. Not really a feature of the song, but I'm digging the 80's-alien-space vibe a lot. Excited to hear more attempts at the sound going forward. THE WEAKNESSES:
- That Fucking Bridge. Come on, come on, come on, come on, oooo-oooh. Hold tight, hold tight, hold tight, hold tight, ooo-oooh. Come the fuck on, Chris. You must know you can do better than that. - The Middle-Eight. You've got, oh, you've got a higher power x 534. Again, just lazy for a melodist as talented as Chris. Feels like he just wanted to rush back to that chorus and didn't care much about how. - The Ending. It just kind of ends. Remember that amazing drum solo at the end of Every Teardrop? The piano ballad at the end of Violet Hill? I love a good ending, and this just doesn't even bother trying. Overall, I'd say 6/10. A fun little bop with a good sound and a nice chorus, but some weak writing and a throwaway feel. Like you said - fine for a bouncy album track, a definite let-down for a lead single. |
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Post by batfink30 on May 7, 2021 6:57:40 GMT -5
Meh,meh.
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Post by glider on May 7, 2021 10:21:22 GMT -5
Yeah, pretty meh. Not utter trash like AHFOD material but not vibrant pop like Mylo Xyloto - middle of the road unfortunately. Sounding like old age safe U2! Yikes!
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Post by Lennon2217 on May 7, 2021 11:20:17 GMT -5
Strooooooooooooooong rumors of a BTS collaboration on this new album.
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Post by glider on May 7, 2021 11:27:02 GMT -5
Strooooooooooooooong rumors of a BTS collaboration on this new album. Nuke it from orbit. |
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Post by glider on May 7, 2021 11:27:23 GMT -5
Orphans was a much better lead single.
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Post by matt on May 7, 2021 12:12:01 GMT -5
I like the rhythm and beat of this. And the verses are cool. But the hook and melody for the chorus isn't that great, fairly generic actually. Doesn't burst the way it should do.
It's certainly no Orphans. It's fine, it's just not something I will go back to. It doesn't make me fear the worst - what I do fear is the Hallmark lyric inspired Instagram filter vibe acoustic based nonsense that fucked up A Head Full Of Dreams (reiterating the fact that what makes new Coldplay infuriating is those fillers like Amazing Day and Fun, not the much derided collabs with Beyonce or Rihanna which are actually fairly good pop songs).
Screw it, I'll put my neck out and say this collaboration with Pharrell Williams is much much better.
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Post by matt on May 7, 2021 12:14:30 GMT -5
Yeah, pretty meh. Not utter trash like AHFOD material but not vibrant pop like Mylo Xyloto - middle of the road unfortunately. Sounding like old age safe U2! Yikes! One thing I will defend Coldplay with is that when they go straight down the middle with these kind of songs, it's still far far better than the crap U2 singles of late. There is a real vibrancy to it which means it will capture the audience it wants. That is completely lacking in the 'how you doing kids' production vibes of a modern U2 single which pleases absolutely nobody. |
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Post by batfink30 on May 7, 2021 13:55:11 GMT -5
Yeah, pretty meh. Not utter trash like AHFOD material but not vibrant pop like Mylo Xyloto - middle of the road unfortunately. Sounding like old age safe U2! Yikes! One thing I will defend Coldplay with is that when they go straight down the middle with these kind of songs, it's still far far better than the crap U2 singles of late. There is a real vibrancy to it which means it will capture the audience it wants. That is completely lacking in the 'how you doing kids' production vibes of a modern U2 single which pleases absolutely nobody. Yeah but tbf, U2 are hitting 60 now. Shouldve ditched pop type stuff a while ago. |
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Post by glider on May 7, 2021 13:58:06 GMT -5
Yeah, pretty meh. Not utter trash like AHFOD material but not vibrant pop like Mylo Xyloto - middle of the road unfortunately. Sounding like old age safe U2! Yikes! One thing I will defend Coldplay with is that when they go straight down the middle with these kind of songs, it's still far far better than the crap U2 singles of late. There is a real vibrancy to it which means it will capture the audience it wants. That is completely lacking in the 'how you doing kids' production vibes of a modern U2 single which pleases absolutely nobody. To their credit, Get Out Of Your Own Way is miles better than Higher Power though. This song just fuses out immediately when Chris gets to the middle-8, like he gave up writing the song. |
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Post by Lennon2217 on May 7, 2021 18:54:52 GMT -5
Pretty solid interview about the band's evolution artistic from indie rock to pop, echo touring and Higher Power. No real album news but Chris did say Max Martin is their producer going forward for this cycle.
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Post by funhouse on May 8, 2021 6:59:46 GMT -5
Hi Coldplayers, just wanted to say that I very much like this transition at 3:58.
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Post by Lennon2217 on May 8, 2021 7:07:59 GMT -5
Hi Coldplayers, just wanted to say that I very much like this transition at 3:58. One of my all time fav Coldplay songs. Such an epic conclusion to this stellar tune. I remember only having it as a live track from a 2001 bootleg. It hadn't yet been recorded. |
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Post by tomlivesforever on May 8, 2021 18:59:15 GMT -5
Its dreadful. There is something in the verses and for some reason they reminded me of the verses in Boys of Summer by Don Henly. I just find there to be something deeply cynical about Coldplay these days and the music they make.
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Post by Lennon2217 on May 8, 2021 20:01:48 GMT -5
Its dreadful. There is something in the verses and for some reason they reminded me of the verses in Boys of Summer by Don Henly. I just find there to be something deeply cynical about Coldplay these days and the music they make. Well Chris has pointed out to many interviewers that when Coldplay started it was still the old world music community of genres playing in their own sandbox and never venturing out. He says over the last 10-11 years the musical walls have fallen and cross genre pollination is now accepted and encouraged. He said he always felt forced to write white indie rock music after they broke out in 2002-2003. |
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Post by glider on May 8, 2021 23:31:05 GMT -5
Work with Nigel Godrich you cowards
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Post by glider on May 8, 2021 23:35:56 GMT -5
Its dreadful. There is something in the verses and for some reason they reminded me of the verses in Boys of Summer by Don Henly. I just find there to be something deeply cynical about Coldplay these days and the music they make. Well Chris has pointed out to many interviewers that when Coldplay started it was still the old world music community of genres playing in their own sandbox and never venturing out. He says over the last 10-11 years the musical walls have fallen and cross genre pollination is now accepted and encouraged. He said he always felt forced to write white indie rock music after they broke out in 2002-2003. X&Y sounds a like forced record but that was their only record that he can make this excuse for. Viva and MX were a major departure from "white indie rock". By Ghost Stories he'd been better by simply saying they wanted to cash in on the modern pop scene full time and at least he'd sound more believable. |
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Post by The Escapist on May 9, 2021 5:11:10 GMT -5
I always find it a bit strange when rock music fans assume that the only reason someone would like or want to make contemporary pop music is money. People have been saying it about Chris since Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, and that was a decade ago. You'd think some would've come to the conclusion by now that the man just has a different taste to them and, shock horror, actually likes modern pop. And he's pretty good at it. Every Teardrop, A Sky Full of Stars, Adventure of a Lifetime, these are great pop tunes that rightly became big hits.
Higher Power isn't on that level, no doubt. Needs a bit more Johnny, needs a better middle-eight. But it's far from dreadful, in my opinion. All it's trying to be is a nocturnal, love-drunk pop tune, and I think it achieves that. Good verses, great chorus, excellent production. It's their weakest lead single since Shiver, but it's got me invested to hear more of this 80's Alien Pop era. You gotta take music for what it is. This is going in playlists with The Weeknd, Dua Lipa, and our lord and saviour Billie Eilish. It's not tryna be there with Karma Police.
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Post by matt on May 9, 2021 7:06:14 GMT -5
I always find it a bit strange when rock music fans assume that the only reason someone would like or want to make contemporary pop music is money. People have been saying it about Chris since Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, and that was a decade ago. You'd think some would've come to the conclusion by now that the man just has a different taste to them and, shock horror, actually likes modern pop. And he's pretty good at it. Every Teardrop, A Sky Full of Stars, Adventure of a Lifetime, these are great pop tunes that rightly became big hits. Higher Power isn't on that level, no doubt. Needs a bit more Johnny, needs a better middle-eight. But it's far from dreadful, in my opinion. All it's trying to be is a nocturnal, love-drunk pop tune, and I think it achieves that. Good verses, great chorus, excellent production. It's their weakest lead single since Shiver, but it's got me invested to hear more of this 80's Alien Pop era. You gotta take music for what it is. This is going in playlists with The Weeknd, Dua Lipa, and our lord and saviour Billie Eilish. It's not tryna be there with Karma Police. There's a catch all demographic with Coldplay, varying in ethnicity, age groups, nationalities etc. And it's the reasons you suggest. I get why folk call it cynical but I don't see it like that. I refer to U2 above as an example of a band who are cynical in their attempts to capture the mainstream zeitgeist, and I'm talking as a diehard U2 fan. You know it's cynical because they fail at it and they can't tap into it. So it suggests they're going into territory that is not their forte and that they neither have a love or passion for. David Bowie's quote in saying that an artist was not being true to themselves by writing songs that tried to appeal to an audience rings true in that sense. But Coldplay churn out this stuff time and time again and have hit after hit and that comes from Chris Martin's genuine love of all types of music. He's a musical magpie who can transition into anything - he's talked up everything from classical, hip-hop, teen pop, alt rock, jazz etc etc. When you're wildly successful like Coldplay, there's got to be some deep convictions to the kind of stuff you are writing for lots of people to love it. I personally don't love it and I don't think it's anywhere near the quality of stuff they can do (I'm an old timer fan who loves the alt rock and art pop but appreciate a lot of the pop songs they do). But I have no doubt that Chris Martin, who in his mind would unashamedly put a pop song like Backstreets Back on the level of Paranoid Android, does believe in the stuff he's writing. Millions love it, the younger folk totally get on board with it, so who am I to complain. |
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Post by The Escapist on May 9, 2021 7:20:18 GMT -5
There's a catch all demographic with Coldplay, varying in ethnicity, age groups, nationalities etc. And it's the reasons you suggest. I get why folk call it cynical but I don't see it like that. I refer to U2 above as an example of a band who are cynical in their attempts to capture the mainstream zeitgeist, and I'm talking as a diehard U2 fan. You know it's cynical because they fail at it and they can't tap into it. So it suggests they're going into territory that is not their forte and that they neither have a love or passion for. David Bowie's quote in saying that an artist was not being true to themselves by writing songs that tried to appeal to an audience rings true in that sense. But Coldplay churn out this stuff time and time again and have hit after hit and that comes from Chris Martin's genuine love of all types of music. He's a musical magpie who can transition into anything - he's talked up everything from classical, hip-hop, teen pop, alt rock, jazz etc etc. When you're wildly successful like Coldplay, there's got to be some deep convictions to the kind of stuff you are writing for lots of people to love it. I personally don't love it and I don't think it's anywhere near the quality of stuff they can do (I'm an old timer fan who loves the alt rock and art pop but appreciate a lot of the pop songs they do). But I have no doubt that Chris Martin, who in his mind would unashamedly put a pop song like Backstreets Back on the level of Paranoid Android, does believe in the stuff he's writing. Millions love it, the younger folk totally get on board with it, so who am I to complain. I'm in a similar boat. Personally, my favourite Coldplay will always be the Eno-inspired art-pop Coldplay from 2008-2012. That, for me, was their peak in terms of lyrics, musicianship, and vibrancy. Proof of the pudding is that whenever a song from that time re-emerges later (ALIENS, Arabesque), it's always a highlight of it's release. But at this point the band has given me so much of my favourite music that it'd be churlish to sit here with my arms folded demanding that everything sound like Chinese Sleep Chant. I agree - they're capable of much better than Higher Power. But that doesn't make it bad. It is what it is, an infectious and energetic pop tune designed to bring a Coldplay twist to that synth-wave pop sound that's seen a resurgence recently and has obviously taken Chris' heart. And I think it works for that. It's not their best pop tune, far from it, but it's not their worst. Put it on at a party, put it in a playlist with other songs in it's genre, and it works well enough. I'd rank it above the likes of Hymn for the Weekend and Princess of China, below the likes of Every Teardrop and A Sky Full of Stars. And if you just don't like that modern pop sound, that's fine. Loads don't. If you like that sound but still don't like Higher Power, that's fine too. The song certainly has it's weaknesses (that lazy middle-eight). My problem is when people act like making contemporary pop music can't just be because someone might actually like that and want to make it, it has to be because of some kind of personality defect. The most common thing is that Chris is a money-grabbing sell-out, but I have seen people unironically speculate that it's a result of some kind of childhood trauma that makes him always want to fit in with what's popular. All this to avoid the satanic idea that some people just like what's in the charts and want to sound like that more than they want to sound like OK Computer. |
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Post by The Escapist on May 9, 2021 12:27:22 GMT -5
Started learning the piano version! You can hear the prettiness of the verses better, I think.
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clueso
Madferrit Fan
Posts: 80
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Post by clueso on May 10, 2021 3:29:50 GMT -5
Well, live it definetly stands the test. Great to hear more of Jonny✌
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Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5
Nov 4, 2024 5:04:30 GMT -5