X&Y

Coldplay were faced with a difficult choice as they set to work on X&Y. They could either follow Radiohead’s lead and use their enormous success and financial security as a springboard to a brave experimental future--or they could play it safe, repeat the tricks used on the 16 million-selling A Rush Of Blood To The Head, and consolidate their position as one of the biggest bands in the world. In truth, despite the Tetris-inspired artwork and presence of teaser track "Talk"--which steals its melody line from electro-futurists Kraftwerk’s gorgeous "Computer Love"--X&Y is more the latter than the former. Fans will be delighted by "What If?", a piano elegy that takes flight on strings, and slowly builds towards a Beatles' "A Day In The Life"-style climax, while the likes of "Fix You" and hidden track "'Til Kingdom Come"--originally written for country hero Johnny Cash--proves Martin’s skill for simple, affecting songwriting remains intact. One development, however, comes through the judicious inclusion of some rather pleasant synthesiser work--see "White Shadows", where Martin gently beseeches "Come on love, stay with me" over a gentle Eno-esque keyboard wash. Fair enough: the experimental albums can come later. --Louis Pattison

 

 

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You've heard the single, read the reviews and listened to the interviews; everything suggests Coldplay's new album is going to be great. But it's not until you hear the first few bars of the opening track that you know that the band are going to achieve everything they hoped and dreamed of.

This album is superb. It'll silence their critics, amaze their fans and win them a whole new legion of admirers. It might even bring about world peace! I'm sure that was one of Chris Martin's objectives for this album...

"Square One" opens the record in typically anthemic fashion: 'Is there anywhere you want to go? The future's for discovering'. Martin has the knack of writing lyrics that affect individuals on a massive scale. Thousands have fallen for his simple songs about hope, loss, love and happiness. X&Y is full of touching eulogiessuch as "A Message" and "Swallowed In The Sea" which express complete and honest love for a partner.

Much has been made of Coldplay challenging U2's title of biggest band in the world. Martin may spend a great deal of time emulating Bono by talking to politicians and canvassing support for his causes but, unlike Bono, these issues haven't crept into his songwriting. There are no protest songs here.

On this record Martin proves once again that he's an excellent singer while Buckland has become, according to Chris, a 'guitar hero'. Add bass player Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion and you have four great musicians. Their powers peak on "Talk", a fantastic song that is, on an album of big songs, positively gargantuan. More evidence that Coldplay are far and away the best at what they do. Imitators such as Thirteen Senses, Keane and Longview can't touch them.

Other album highlights include "Low", perhaps the most frantic song they've recorded, which features some awesome guitar licks. And the secret final track, "'Til Kingdom Come", where the threadbare acoustic guitar contrasts wonderfully with the big album sound.

Martin has repeatedly spoken of howhe loves every minute of being in Coldplay. His passion is genuine; he's living his dream, making music he loves and playing live to thousands of adoring fans every night. And Martin is doing all this with his three best mates. Coldplay are a closely knit group of musicians, a band of men with one aim -to make the best music in the world. On the epic X&Y they're on the brink of achieving that goal. --Dan Tallis

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Coldplay's massively anticipated new album, X&Y, is the follow-up to 2002's 16-million selling A Rush of Blood To The Head and includes the single "Speed of Sound". X&Y was recorded at studios in the UK and has been produced by Danton Supple (Morrissey, Elbow), Ken Nelson (Badly Drawn Boy, Kings of Convenience) and the band themselves.

 

Tracks include:

"Square One":Probable single. Built around a subtle electronic drum beat reminiscent of Brian Eno or Berlin-period Bowie, the song builds into a huge chorus featuring massive guitars and organ. Like Radiohead's "Paranoid Android", it sounds like their most ambitious and possibly best song yet.

"What If":Starting with a simple piano, a fragile-sounding Chris sings, "What if you decide/You don't want me there by your side... in your life". This album's "The Scientist".

"Talk":A possible B-side to the first single, "Talk" takes the riff from electronic music legends Kraftwerk's "Computer Love" and builds a completely new song. It keeps the mechanical beat of the original but adds a huge guitar and dancefloor filling bass-line. Stadiums won't be big enough to contain it.

"'Til Kingdom Come":This was written for Johnny Cash, but he died before he could record it. Coldplay's version is a sweet Dylan-esque folk song on acoustic guitar. "For you I'd wait til kingdom come/Until my days, my days are done." Chris vows.

"X&Y":The dreamy, synth-heavy song features the chorus, "You and me are floating on a tidal wave together/You and me are drifting into outer space." Beatles-style strings suddenly appear towards the end, and the anthemic singalong "woo-hoo-hoo" outro is set to become the sound of the summer festivals.

"The Hardest Part":A classic Coldplay love song about loss and heartbreak, in which Chris sings, "The hardest part was letting go, not taking part."