Thursday, June 26, 2008 | midnight
It’s almost too easy to compare Coldplay’s fourth album, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, to U2’s fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire. Chris Martin et al’s self-professed U2 worship aside, both discs feature the unmistakable atmospheric touch of ambient genius Brian Eno. Accordingly, each album focuses on keyboard-buoyed nuance over hard-hitting rock songs; only U2’s “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and Coldplay’s string-fortified, No. 1 Billboard hit “Viva La Vida” are anthemic in the traditional sense.
But perhaps the most intriguing parallel between the two albums is how innovative they are. Fire’s quietly determined political dreamscapes were a marked departure from War’s rousing call to arms, and the first time U2 broke from traditional pop structures. Coldplay’s shift toward subtlety and space makes perfect sense—2005’s sublime, airy X&Y featured the Kraftwerk-sampling “Talk,” after all—but most see the U.K. group as boring dad-rockers.
The noncommercial, unconventional Vida should change that perception. Rooted in ambiguity and intrigue, as well as lushly arranged orchestral passages, the album is a powerful emotional statement. “Cemeteries of London” features insistent chattering percussion, a chanting chorus and chord progressions that give it the air of a humble Catholic hymn. “Lovers in Japan” also feels religious, although its brisk tempo, sunny riffs and Martin’s hopeful vocals feel like a faith-brightened celebration.
“42” begins as a sober piano dirge, with Martin crooning the lines, “Those who are dead are not dead, they’re just living in my head,” but its midsection turns into a Radiohead-like guitar squall. The Russian-flavored “Yes,” too, switches gears mid-stream, transitioning from a string-snarled menace into the amorphous, melting-glacier hidden track “Chinese Sleep Chant,” which resembles a muffled My Bloody Valentine tune.
Indeed, unlike on previous Coldplay albums, Martin’s vocals (and the band’s lyrics) generally blend in with the music. But on Vida, the album’s overall atmosphere becomes greater than the sum of its parts—and what’s conveyed is quietly lovely and affecting.
The bottom line ****1/2
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