[ NEW ON CD ]
VITORIA SMITH / COLDPLAY.COM
Guitarist Jon Buckland performs with Coldplay in LA.
Coldplay a hit on both
sides of pond
"A Rush of Blood to the Head"
Coldplay (Capitol)
The sophomore release from this popular Britpop band further develops its reputation as charming and sensitive musicians beloved by both home country fans and discerning American listeners. Formed four years ago at the University College of London, Coldplay hit the ground running with its debut album "Parachutes," nominated two years ago for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in Great Britain.But it was the song "Yellow" that secured the band's rep here in the United States, even used by ABC-TV for that year's promotional campaign.
That would be something Chris Martin and company would frown upon now, since a couple of the album's songs and the band's pro-human rights profile show a more activist stand. The leadoff "Politik" and the ambitious title track are in line with other bands like U2 and Radiohead with occasional social commentary inserted into their music. (The band supports Make Trade Fair, a U.K.-based campaign that aims to end the exploitation of Third World workers by changing international trade rules.)
But fans of their exquisite dream-pop needn't despair. The single "In My Place" has a vulnerable feel, complete with a memorable, chiming guitar hook. The band seems to fancy "the quiet intro and outro with the swelling melodic middle" on songs "The Scientist" and "Warning Sign." The album's highlights, however, are smack dab in the middle. "Clocks" has a yearning, fanciful quality, with a lovely and lush piano figure, while the following "Daylight" has an expansive, hopeful feel influenced by George Harrison's "Within You, Without You."
By Gary C.W. Chun, Star-Bulletin
gchun@starbulletin.com
Also out: "Live," The Black Crowes; "Home," Dixie Chicks; "Eve-Olution," Eve; "All Rise," Wynton Marsalis; "Songs for the Deaf," Queens of the Stone Age
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