Review Summary: I'll just blame this album on a Rush of Blood to Coldplay's head. Goodbye Coldplay, and thanks for the memories.
Let me begin by saying Coldplay was the first band I ever started listening to, something like five years ago. Like presumably 1,024,024 other people in the world, I listened to Yellow first and loved it; I have no shame in admitting that I still do. Then I ventured to the other songs that everyone has heard about, like 'The Scientist', 'Clocks' and 'Viva La Vida'. I worshiped Coldplay at the time (yes, I was 13) and proceeded to download all their studio albums and EPs over the next year. Needless to say, I was blown away by their work. Over the years, I have listened to a lot of different music, ranging from Sigur Ros, Slayer and Snarky Puppy to the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Porcupine Tree/Steven Wilson. Despite a profusion of styles, genres and a whole new world of music opening up to me, Coldplay simply never lost its charm.
When I first heard 'Swallowed In the Sea' and 'Fix You', I thought Jonny Buckland was bringing about the rapture on his guitar. Five years later, I know he obviously isn't, but only with respect to technicality and that's exactly where I'm getting with this back-story. What made Coldplay beautiful was their simplicity; their ability to reach all the way to one's heart by the simple virtue of the genuineness of their music. Ever since, I've waited ever-so-eagerly for every single song they've released, from 'Christmas Lights' to their swansong, 'A Head Full of Dreams'. Something was lost along the way, beginning with Mylo Xyloto and ending here. Coldplay have stopped wearing their heart on their sleeves with their recent releases; they've stopped doing exactly what had endeared them to us and to some degree, have begun to be too influenced by Chris Martin than is good for them, case in point being the whole of 'Ghost Stories'.
Coming to this album, it can be considered akin to a whimper of an end of something that was once magnificent. Listening to the album opener, 'A Head Full of Dreams', I felt the same way I did when I heard 'Hurts Like Heaven' - the energy of the song was infectious and it made me think that this album might actually be better than I expected. Unlike 'Hurts Like Heaven', though, and like the album at large, it fails to see itself through and loses its shiny gloss and glitter all too soon. Songs like 'Bird', 'Fun' and 'Hymn For the Weekend' (albeit to a lesser degree), illustrate a recurring feature in this album, which is the attempt to bring in a big, crowd-pleasing, epic chorus; the ones that can't help but let one forget the inadequacies of the song itself. This, however, is exactly what they aren't able to do, in a rather cringe-worthy manner, despite featuring artists like Beyonce and Tove Lo. On first listen, yes, it's big and it's somewhat (?) catchy but a few listens later, it simply sounds more uninspired than anything else. The lead single, 'Adventure of a Lifetime' is probably one of the highlights of the album, doing right what the aforementioned three couldn't.
'Kaleidoscope', that features some pleasing piano-playing and spoken word over it, is certainly something refreshing and forms the transition between the former and latter halves of the album. It's followed by 'Army of One' and 'X Marks the Spot', which in all honesty should be on a Chris Martin solo album rather than a Coldplay one. The latter, especially, is atrocious, if I may say so. For the masterpiece that was 'Midnight', this is the complete opposite, while trying to recreate the same feel with an added monstrosity of lyrics. The album definitely has its moments too. While the title track and 'Adventure of a Lifetime' are the some of the better upbeat tracks, the album ends with moments reminiscent of the Coldplay of old, featuring songs like 'Miracles', 'Amazing Day' and 'Up&Up', which are relatively more comforting listens than the rest of the album. The penultimate track, 'Up&Up', is a 7-minute ballad that instantly transports us back to the days of 'Fix You' and despite it's cliched chorus of 'We're gonna get, get it together', is up there with 'Adventure of a Lifetime' as one of the major highlights. It even features a near-impossible two(!) guitar solos from Jonny Buckland and featured artist, Noel Gallagher, and some unorthodox bass work from Guy Berryman, which is a rarer sight than a new Tool album.
'Miracles' is the perfect closing track the album could ask for, because all said and done, Coldplay have been nothing short of a miracle. If Chris Martin really is serious about the silly Harry Potter analogy and this being their last album, we should probably take a minute to remember all the euphoria-inducing, heartwarming and moving moments Coldplay songs have brought us in their 16-year career. They may have gone out with a mere flicker, but not even this album can change what Coldplay is, was and will always be to me. We can still celebrate Coldplay for being Coldplay because they've earned a permanent place in all of our hearts.
(P.S - You should probably listen to 'Miracles' while reading that last paragraph!)
