June 11, 2008
Coldplay's A'Comin'!
Oh, Coldplay. Look, we're not buying that whole "Coldplay is the last chance at a savior for EMI" conversation that's been ricocheting around the interwebs for, oh, the past six months. But if we were buying that argument, we'd probably tell EMI that they're in safe hands with the groups latest, the Brian Eno produced and cumbersomely titled Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends. We hear more than a smidgen of U2 grandness peeking through the tracks, and Chris Martin has learned how to use his voice in ways that no longer directly parrot Jeff Buckley. Or Thom Yorke. Actually, Coldplay should be a critical punching bag by now, but face it, they've actually put together their best album yet. Maybe this little band has legs after all!
We'll get a chance to see how these new epics translate to the stage on July 23, when the band stops in town to play a show at the United Center. Tickets go on sale Saturday.
Photo from the band's MySpace page
We're still waiting for the band to come to their senses and releas the strongest track on the album, "42," as a single, but until then, this'll have to do.
| 
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
email this
add to facebook
add to del.icio.us
In the interest of full disclosure, don't you think you should acknowledge the fact that the ad for the new album is all over this site? I'm just sayin...
How strange! We actually have no control over ads (that's attended to by the ad department, which is separate from editorial) so disclosure isn't really necessary.
god help me, i like these guys. i consider myself a music snob but I like these guys.
The new record is pretty good, but deep down isn't it really just another Coldplay record? Don't get me wrong: Eno's production seems to lend a nuance to the songs that was absent before, I really dig some of the songs, and it's been on repeat on the ol' iPod. But it still feels like to me that you could put their entire catalog on "shuffle" and whatever mix you got you wouldn't really notice a difference. Of course, you could say the same for a lot of bands I like....
In the interest of full disclosure, don't you think you should acknowledge the fact that the ad for the new album is all over this site? I'm just sayin...
So, you are asking for Chicagoist to disclose something about which you are already aware?
Odd.
How about this: You make up your own mind whether the writing is a slave to the ads. Psuedo-disclosure has no bearing in that.
I have gone all of these years without ever hearing them (if they have even been around "all these years") and I am hoping to keep it that way.
@mike thoms: Oh my god, you are my hero for saying that. I feel so very guilty for digging what I've heard off this new album. I've admitted it to three people so far: the first was safe as she has no qualms about saying she likes them; the second is a pompous ass about music and mocked me mercilessly; the third was blessedly mum about the whole thing.
I own their first album thanks to a friend at the time thinking I'd like it; this is the first one I think I'll actually pay money for, and plan on listening to the free stream on MySpaz tonight.
My teenage son asked me what I thought of the new album. I said that it pretty much sounds like anything else they've ever done...it's almost like 'ambient' music to me at this point.
He said that after a while, they start sounding like his teachers and he just tunes them out. And by that I guess he meant the same thing I did...ambient background music.
"We're still waiting for the band to come to their senses and release the strongest track on the album, "42," as a single, but until then, this'll have to do."
What a ridiculous statement. You make is sound as though the album has been out for ages but last I checked, the street date isn't until June 17th and the first single release is just now approaching it's peak.
I agree "42" is a single contender but let's at least allow the album to get (officially) released and let the singles take nature's course.
Actually, they've released two singles from the album so far, "Violet Hill" and "Viva La Vida."
Heard the album, seen the Itunes commercial, saw that Eno produced it.
The ONLY surprise is that they didn't call the album 'Joshua Tree' or at least if there was Spanish in the title, call it "Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce" I'm SHOCKED!