Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

4.0/5
Coldplay's winning formula ran slightly dry on their 2005 release X&Y, causing the band to dig into creative depths never before encountered by Chris Martin and the others. As a result, they have come out with their most ambitious album to date. I can't stand when critics say music is "influenced by world music," because usually the claim is grossly exaggerated...so I won't say that, but I will say that this record certainly contains more interesting instrumentation used to great effect. The title track, "Viva La Vida", is swirling with strings, timpani, bells, and a rousing "Oh oh ohhhh" backing vocal line. "Lost!" is about as catchy as it gets, with shuffling drums, bold organ chords, and handclaps. "Yes" finds Chris Martin singing in an uncharacteristically low register, ending with the hidden "Chinese Sleep Chant" The first single that came out, "Violet Hill", is a good straight-up rock tune; the last 45 seconds consists of Martin singing longingly over simple and beautiful piano chords, giving me chills everytime (It's very reminscent of the last 1:30 of their 2002 song "Warning Sign"). Viva La Vida sounds amazing. The only thing that keeps this really good record from being a great record is that it seems like U2 already made it. Sometimes while listening to a certain track, I can picture U2 doing the exact same song. Nevertheless, it's still a great listen and big step forward for Coldplay.