Most of us travel through life with our minds racing and bodies flailing. Getting ourselves to feel grounded on a regular basis not only takes a lot of work, but tons of patience and focus. Plus there is enough outside clatter in this world to so easily distract us from getting to that place of bliss. Thankfully, Coldplay has created an album so grounded there's no way you'll be racing around town with this one in your possession.
It is so obvious that the nation is craving some serenity with the hugh sucess of Coldplay and the release of X&Y. Chris Martin, little Apple's "cool" daddy and front man of the band is a bona fide rock star and he seems to do it so effortlessly you'd think the guy was living in another world and in another time. He's managed to marry Gwyneth Paltrow, be in a band who's success is compared to U2 and write songs about it that turn out to be mini masterpieces.
Coldplay has always carried with them the stigma of having a repetetive sound and X&Y is no exception- but this time it makes the album soar, well beyond the realm of our expectations. It feels like a large album with a very large purpose. With all thirteen tracks complimenting each other, I hate to single out any one out, but track #4 has too much energy and strength not to and if you let it, with one listen "fix you" may even bring (dare I say it) a tear to your eye... I'll leave it at that.
Coldplay has a unique ability to write songs about love and life's triumphs without sounding forlorn or desperate, and the way Martin sings them it sounds like the words are coming directly from the gut of his soul; it almost feels like we're peeking into his livingroom window watching him scribble in his notebook.
X&Y has such a mesmorizing tone it seems to seep into our subconscious like some sort of spiritual subliminal recording- minus the creepiness. It commands our attention almost to a fault, being that there's no way to focus on anything but Chris's lyrics while you listen. It's simply intoxicating.
Coldplay's third album stands so tall it's hard to imagine how the fourth or fith one will feel; hopefully the band won't come up for air too soon. this is beautiful, goosebump provocink music- something the world needs a whole lot more of.
Article comments
1 - Kristin
I actually think this is their weakest of the 3 albums.
2 - Matt
Wow Lori, I couldn't disagree with you more.
3 - Matt
...but welcome to Blogcritics!!!!
4 - Soup
Well said, Lori. I found this most interesting: "It is so obvious that the nation is craving some serenity with the hugh sucess of Coldplay and the release of X&Y." You'll quickly find that those who aren't craving the senerity can't help but call it arrogant, fake, and sugary. It takes deep to understand deep. Here's a nod from another deep fan of Coldplay.
5 - steve
Coldplay's best album is Parachutes. X+Y sounds like they locked themselves in a room listening to u2 until they came up for ideas for the album. id give it a b-
6 - Tom Johnson
Soup, Coldplay is anything but "deep." You have actually read the lyrics, right?
7 - DJRadiohead
I consider myself a Coldplay fan and I think "X&Y" was a miss.
Serenity can be a good thing. "A Rush of Blood" had moments of serenity. It also had first-rate songs. "X&Y" only has one essential song ("Speed of Sound" is good stuff). "Fix You" is plesant. The rest of the album? Not so much. "X&Y" isn't garbage... but "A Rush of Blood..." was transcendent. "X&Y" is not.
8 - Mark Saleski
transcendent?
i guess i'll just have to file Coldplay under 'bands i do not get'.
all i get out of Coldplay is 'cold'.
9 - visualsimplicity
"Speed of Sound" is good stuff? I think I liked it better when it was called "Clocks" (and I didn't even like that one all that much). The best song off of X&Y would be the unlisted song that they originally wrote for the late Johnny Cash, "Till Kingdom Come".
10 - John Bil
They sound like a bunch of whiney losers.
11 - Steve Antony
Third album is excellent...maybe not their greatest, but God, who wouldn't kill for three excellent to great albums. This is the next great band behind U2. If anyone attended the concert, and remembers the song Mr. Martin sang to his Dad with the Johnny Cash "Ring of Fire" melody, please post the name and if possible how to get my hands on a copy of it. Thank you, Steve Anthony.
12 - Rob
I have to agree with Mark. I just don't get this band. They've always been bland to me, the oat-cakes of the music scene.
13 - mia
this was a good album...
14 - Mick
We are not worthy!....we are not worthy!......awsome....monolithic masterpiece, they can't keep getting better and better surely :)