• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Nov 25, 2019 Web Exclusive By Matt the Raven

Coldplay knew what they were doing by releasing at the same time the first two singles, “Orphans” and “Arabesque,” ahead of their eighth studio album, Everyday Life. The latter a surprisingly jazzy spin on the Coldplay formula, complete with a freewheeling saxophone solo and forays into Afrobeat that make it one of their most interesting songs in years, and the former standard but effective Coldplay indie pop. Both were good enough to fan the flames of anticipation while even piquing the interest of nonfans. So it is quite the surprise upon hearing the whole album and discovering how inessential most of it is. It seems like a joke, a very bad joke.

Everyday Life starts innocently enough with a classical instrumental piece. It’s suitable for a movie soundtrack and not necessarily what you would expect, but harmless nonetheless. But things quickly take a turn for the worse. With the exception of the aforementioned singles, and perhaps the misplaced and probably misunderstood “Guns” and the comfortable sounding “Champions of the World,” this is a softer, gentler Coldplay who seem to be coasting through a series of tracks with little imagination and none of their usual exuberance.

Gone are the introspective Brit-rock, sprightly pop, and earnest songwriting of the past. Replaced instead with boring, single-themed tracks that go nowhere and a stripped down sound that rarely encourages repeat listens and bears no resemblance to the fun and glitz that Coldplay have become known for over the course of their last few albums.

With “BrokEn” and “When I Need a Friend” the band dip their toes into gospel, complete with hand claps and a call and response chorus on the former, while the latter employs a church choir and comes off sounding like a bad Christmas carol. The coasting trend continues with “Daddy” and “WOTW / POTP.” Both are soft and bare. “Daddy” is a gentle piano balled that features frontman Chris Martin singing sappy lyrics in his signature falsetto. “WOTW / POTP” is nothing more than a poorly recorded, short ukulele ditty. The real killer though is “Cry, Cry, Cry”-pap piano pop that sounds like a poor imitation of Elton John and Billy Joel.

Even the nimble and funny “Guns” and the nothing-you-haven’t-heard-from-Coldplay-before “Champions of the World” and “Orphans” aren’t enough to forgive the shortcomings of the other tracks. Over the course of the whole record, the uninspired songwriting becomes a bit tiring, so the album as a whole is a disappointment for a band with so much talent and past successes, especially as prior to its release Everyday Life was suggested to be an experimental album and is anything but (bar “Arabesque”). The fact that Coldplay have already announced a new album hot on the heels of this release suggests they even realize the mistake that is Everyday Life. (www.coldplay.com)

Author rating: 4/10