Discovering Bands: Viva Coldplay
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
Ok, it’s not really discovering Coldplay, considering I’ve been listening to the band since before they broke big in North America with “Yellow” in 2002. In fact, I remember sitting in a theatre in Liverpool back in October of 2001 waiting for former Fleetwood Mac leader Peter Green to hit the stage, and Coldplay’s debut album was being spun over and over. It sounded good then, and the band has really just gotten better over the years.
“Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends” is a hit across the world; in North America alone it’s sold 1 million copies in just about 2 weeks, and the band has even topped the Billboard singles charts with “Viva La Vida”, which is a great accomplishment for a rock band in this day and age. But with all the sales stats and sold out shows on the upcoming tour, the one question I think that’s worth asking is whether or not the new album is actually any good.
A friend of mine was saying last week that he thought “Viva La Vida” might be Coldplay’s best. Initally I thought that was a crazy statement, since the record’s been out for such a short amount of time. However, having given it quite a few listens over the last week or so I’d have to agree. With producer Brian Eno manning the board, the band takes their U2 fetish to it’s proper place, creating a 45 minute album of anthems that get stuck in your head. Literally. I catch myself all the time humming the beat to “Lost!” all the time (I’m sure I’m not the only), and the title track is undeniably catchy. I have to admit I wasn’t immediately sold on “Violet Hill” but that one’s grown on me as well. The album is immediate, but not obvious.
It’s great to hear a band pushing both themselves and their audience, and to see a great reception in return. If you’ve listened to the latest Coldplay, we’d love to hear what you think. Leave your thoughts and then use VIVA as today’s bonus code.