So I just downloaded Coldplay's newest album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, and I am completely impressed.
I have to admit, I was never really convinced with Coldplay. I didn't really understand why so many people raved about them, they were always just "alright" to me. They seemed to be copying U2's signature style and weren't all that great during live performances (at least on TV). I enjoyed X&Y for probably a week and then got really bored. I fell in love with "Til Kingdom Come" not knowing it was Coldplay and then discovered it was originally written for Johnny Cash and probably the reason it didn't sound like anything else in their library.
Then I saw the the infamous itunes commercial with their new single, Viva La Vida, and I turned to the hubs and admitted it was a pretty rad song. As usual, they sounded sub par at the MTV Movie Awards so I was kind of turned off again. This afternoon I decided to download the new album and give it a go and here I am, hitting repeat on the album for the 3rd time. I can't help myself, it's great. They seemed to have found their own sound on this record, no longer sounding overly U2-ish (even though now they seem to sound a little more Beatles-esque).
It can be a little overly dramatic with lengthy epic sounding songs like "Yes!", but I can't really complain. Afterall, I can't say much - I'm a psychotic Smashing Pumpkins fan and we all know how much Billy Corgan loves his 10+ minute epics.
I recommend "Strawberry Swing" and "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" - so far they are my favorites. "Life in Technicolor" is also a gorgeous instrumental.
So what do you guys think about Coldplay?
