some initial track-by-track thoughts on ‘viva la vida’

After downloading the new Coldplay this morning (while gritting my teeth because it was from the terrible, terrible iTunes Music Store), I thought I’d jot down some notes after hearing each song. Take it for what it’s worth.

1) Life in Technicolor – Sounds like Sigur Ros opening for them on this one. Right up to the point, that is, when the sitar-like lead and the acoustic come in and Chris Martin starts “Ohhhh whooo-o-ooooooh!”-ing his way back into our hearts. Ahh, Coldplay, welcome back. Grade: B-

2) Cemeteries of London – Ooo, they’re covering U2. Awesome. In all seriousness, though, this is a good enough (if somewhat innocuous) track. It has clapping. Can’t go wrong with clapping. And the lyrics sound kind of spooky. Witches, ghost towns, God wandering through a garden. Grade: B+

3) Lost! – More clapping. Don’t push your luck with the clapping, fellas. I know I just said you can’t go wrong with clapping, but don’t take that to mean that I want a total absence of a drum kit. This track, more than the others, seems to be pulled from the X&Y lyrics book. Self-help, pop music style. Unlike those tracks, though, it is percussive and doesn’t go for any cheap thrills in terms of melody (“Fix You”? Really?? Fix this.) Solid track. The iTunes bonus track is a piano-only version of this song which is arguably better than the clap-along rock version. Grade: B-

4) 42 – Meh. This kin of lam… WHOA, until they break it down at 1:34! This is… well, this is actually still less than spectacular. They’re not “breaking it down” so much as they’re putzing about. “You thought you might be a ghost / You didn’t get to heaven but you made it close” What’s with all this ghost talk? Well I guess it’s germane here: the only reaction I have to say to this track is a “boo!” ZING! Me: 1 Coldplay: 0 Grade: D

5) Lovers in Japan – What’s going on here? Did iTunes deliver me two songs as one by accident? 3.5 minutes’ worth of barf-in-your-mouth radio-ready cheese garbage (Grade: F) followed by 3.5 minutes of thick, lovely piano and bass (Grade: A-). I’m confused.

6) Yes – Again, this sounds like two tracks fused into one. I’m not trying to make any astute musical observation here, just one of honest bewilderment. What’s with the 4-songs-for-the-price-of-one approach? Is the band trying to stick it to Steve Jobs and give people more bang for their buck? If so, I applaud their creativity and their Pearl Jam-esque thumbing of their collective nose towards The Man. The first ’song’ here is GREAT: rhythmic, pulsing, dark, yet somehow still poppy and catchy. Grade: A The second ’song’… not much doin’ there. Grade: C

7) Viva la Vida – Though I am still convinced it was written for a financial services commercial, I like it. A lot. Grade: A-

8) Violet Hill – Oo, they’re covering Stereophonics. Awesome. (I mean, really, listen to the guitar solo. Is that not lifted right from “Mr. Writer?”) Grade: B

9) Strawberry Swing – Oo, they’re covering Gary Lucas and Jeff Buckley. Awesome. I kid, I kid! This is Real Deal Holyfield, man. I LOVE this song. In fact, this could be the Cool Kid Song that prevents me from spending time with the other songs on the album. And really, any song that has me comparing Coldplay to Jeff Buckley for the first time since Parachutes has got to be a great thing. Grade: A

10) Death and All His Friends – Lovely and creative and unique. But I wish they had made the closing bookmark a separate track instead of playing at the end of this track; it’s really, really nice on it’s own. Yet another song-within-a-song. Grade: A-

Overall, a solid B+ effort from these guys. I think I already like this more than X&Y, which I did like despite it’s over-the top melodrama and self-help tendencies. Here are some songs I was reminded of while listening:

“Mr Writer” by Stereophonics (from Just Enough Education to Perform)

“How Long Will It Take” by Jeff Buckley & Gary Lucas (from Songs To No One)