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SAMPLE OF MUSIC REVIEW

July 3, 2005

COLDPLAY – X&Y – ROCKS!!

Montreal, Canada – From the first moment I heard Chris Martin’s voice and Coldplay’s music in the video Yellow, I knew I wanted to hear more. His was a comforting and familiar voice that was a mix of Bono and Sting. The musical arrangements were simple yet sophisticated.

I got to hear more when I grabbed their first CD release Parachutes (original UK release 2000), and then later A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002). Their third CD release, X&Y, boasts the same feeling “qui emporte” when you sit back, close your eyes and let the music take you away, speeding and slowing through the world of sounds they create. According to Capitol Music, X&Y sold over 105 000 copies in Canada within the first week after its release in early June 2005, making it the biggest debut of the year so far.

The Songs

The CD begins with a full-on explosion of quintessential Coldplay with the song Square One. The composition is a great mix of sounds that remind me of Depeche Mode and Duran Duran, and also of previous Coldplay songs. This is definitely THE song to immerse you into the CD, and it lets you travel through the universe in 4 minutes or so. The title song X&Y brings back a feeling that you get in Ground Control to Major Tom by Bowie.

Lyrics are motivational and also inspire the idea of “everything is connected”. I’ll let you discover these gems on your own, since this message weaves in and out of the 12 tracks. Oh yeah, there is one final track 13 that is not identified in the playlist on the CD jacket. If you want to listen to this CD on PC, a separate player is installed to prevent music piracy.

The best motivational line in the whole collection of songs, found in What If, Speed of Sound, and variations of it in other songs, is “How can you know it if you don’t even try?” Think of all the things you think you can’t or aren’t allowed to do, and then see how far you can get if you actually tried. Score! Think BIG. There are numerous other strong messages, keep an ear open for these.

Ear candy

1)       Martin’s voice remains within his range, but occasionally does something remarkable, like the broken scale in “White Shadows”.

2)       A brief, high-pitched drum roll takes place during the musical interlude in Low.

Don’t like

A downside to the playlist: similar chord progressions as in previous Coldplay releases. Notice similarities between Fix You and The Scientist; also, Speed of Sound is Clocks’ kid brother. But if a band develops a signature sound, and it works, why change it? It’s still pleasing to the ear.

Another thing is that the second part of the CD is not as lustrous as the first. The songs start to sound the same after a while, and the Coldplay glitter fizzes out a little. Some songs also start sounding Country such as The Hardest Part and Til Kingdom Come.

CD Jacket

The CD’s artwork is puzzling, but I like its simplicity and late 1970s rainbow palette. The centerfold looks like a karyotype --a visual representation of all the chromosomes in one cell-- or even the bands of DNA on an electrophoresis gel –a laboratory process that separates DNA. The biologist in me is looking too much into what might perhaps simply be a random collection of colorful squares. I tried to see if a potential secret message was encrypted in this pattern, but maybe there just isn’t one. Nonetheless, I still feel that there is a link between the CD’s title and the artwork.

So, what say you?

Overall, this CD is excellent because it follows the signature sounds that they have created for themselves. The music loops are memorable, the drum rolls significant and steady, and the tingling voice and harmonies offer a hopeful quality to these tunes.

Yes, critics often shoot down Coldplay, saying that this band has become a commercial success and that Martin’s cracking voice is irritating (guys, let the artist do what he does best). But the reason I like this band so much is not that they have good lyrics, not that their music is captivating and well structured, not that they have stimulating live lightshows, not that they stand for good causes (see links to various environmental and social causes in the CD jacket), but that the sum of their parts is greater than the parts themselves. If you want to hear more, like I did, check out X&Y.