Coldplay- X&Y (WW)
(Capitol/EMI)
After two successful hit albums,
Britain’s Coldplay have been hailed as the “next big band” to come out from
that side of the Atlantic, hoping to join their other famous British Isles
cousins Radiohead and U2 in the land of unprecedented success. Their track
record- consisting of hits such as “Yellow” and “Clocks”- did point to an even
greater potential for the band, resulting in heavy anticipation for this year’s
“X&Y”.
Yet, like albums before,
“X&Y” stalls in its objective. Confused on whether or not Coldplay want to
be as tripped out as Radiohead (“Talk”) or as epic as U2 (“White Shadows”),
“X&Y” comes off as a confusing morass that still points to the band’s
greater potential but, like “A Rush of Blood To The Head” and “Parachutes”, it
again fails to reach it. Part of the problem is Chris Martin’s own twisted
musings, such as in “Swallowed In The Sea” and the title track (sample lyric
from that song: “you and me are drifting into outer space”) that are supposed
to present grand metaphors but instead come across as confusing one-liners that
baffle instead of provoke. Another part of that problem is the fact that far
too many of these songs escape the memory as soon as they’re finished,
presenting themselves as obvious filler, and the final part is the
all-too-inconsistent appearances of when the band actually does kick it into
gear, such as in parts of “Fix You”.
This, of course, isn’t to say
that the band don’t ever get it right- the first single, “Speed of Sound”, is
probably the band’s most accessible single yet, while “Talk” blends some
interesting metaphors amidst a backdrop of guitarwork that alternates from airy
to charging that presents one of the band’s most focused work yet. Then there’s
“White Shadows”, a (quasi) straight-up rocker that effectively channels their
inner U2 and portrays everything that makes the band one of the most
talked-about artists on both sides of the Atlantic.
However, time is running out on
the band. Coldplay, as presented before, have immeasurable potential, and, if
they can tap into that then they’ll become the legends that everyone says that
they can be. They just need to do it before everyone gives up on them.
-DG