Everyday Life - Coldplay: Review
is a massively popular British pop rock band who rose to prominence in the 2000's on the back of 4 straight critically acclaimed records to start their career. With numerous hits already under their belt going into the 2010's the band found even more commercial success across their next three records, but it came at the expense of the critical acclaim they had enjoyed in the beginning of their career. After many long time fans have been calling for the band to return to their more alternative rock sound for years Coldplay confirmed that their next record would be a double album, and their most experimental in a while.
Review By Lavender:
Don't let anyone my age tell you that Coldplay was never a good band, you'd have to do some serious revising of history to call Coldplay's output in the 2000's anything but fantastic, and 2002's A Rush Of Blood To The Head, one of the best rock albums of that decade is all you need for proof. But since then Coldplay has been on an out of character decline. 2011's Mylo Xyloto was the bands most pop and electronica oriented record to date and while it wasn't terrible there was certainly elements of creativity and songwriting that came up short. Seemingly trying to respond to this the band returned in 2014 with Ghost Stories a much more muted record by comparison, but one that sounded more like the band pretending to return to their trademark sound rather than actually doing so. The very next year they released their 7th record, and by far their worst. A Head Full Of Dreams felt like the inevitable Coldplay reaching for the most watered down and commercial version of their sound they could and while they found commercial success it seemed all the less likely that they would ever be the critical darlings they once were. Now after 4 years of studio album silence the band is back with what they claim is their most experimental album in years, which isn't saying much, and a double album, albeit one that lasts under an hour somehow. Despite some complaints I do have to say this is the bands best record of the decade, although not by as much as I would have liked.
The first two tracks we heard from the record presented two very different sides of the band, and combine for a surprisingly accurate prediction of what the record would sound like. Orphans is a track that could have fit on any of the last three Coldplay records but despite that I don't hate it, the track seems a little lyrically wandering and the hook isn't my favorite but it has an incredibly blissful vibe while its one and I've heard the band drop far worse singles. The other single is probably my favorite from the band since the Viva La Vida era, the song Arabesque a five minute tune with backing brass instrumental and hazy vocal samples that is very unlike Coldplay but they do it so well. The track is seriously fantastic and hearing the band step out of their comfort zone and assemble a track like this reminded me why I love their back catalog so much.
There were three more tracks released in the lead up to the record and two of them were actually really good. Everyday Life is a somber but incredibly rich pop tune that serves as the closing track to this record and makes for a swelling, dramatic and triumphant conclusion that really feels right at the end of the album. Daddy is another gorgeous tune, a stark piano ballad that never feels slow despite a nearly 5 minute runtime, that serves as a reset moment after the first quarter of the record. The only single I didn't like at all was Champion Of The World which is one of the longest tracks here and I'm not sure why because it never really picks up any momentum and doesn't have any grand moments that make the long wandering verses feel worthwhile.
One of the things I was surprised to see on this record was a number of short thematic tunes that usually help towards making the record more of an experience, but occasionally serve as a strange distraction or weird detour. Sunrise is a pretty great orchestral introduction to the record that sets this precedent for the album from the very start. BrokEn is a very average and kind of forgettable call and response track between Chris and a gospel choir that doesn't stay interesting for its entire runtime. Eko may be the most aimless of all these shorter tracks despite being decent while on I'm not sure what purpose it serves overall. The best of these songs is Children Of Adam a very strange but excellent diversion inspired by a Persian poem that features samples of John and Alice Coltrane as well as a sampled reading of the title poem, its one of the better and more unique moments on the entire record and I wish more of the interlude style tracks were so ambitious.
As far as the rest of the more substantial tracks go, with the exception of the very boring Old Friends I pretty much enjoy them all. Church sounds like a Coldplay track straight out of 2008 with female backing vocals that bend and sway around the mix helping make everything Chris sings all the more impactful. Trouble In Town is a bass heavy but very lowkey track that I like quite a bit. Chris' muted singing is pretty solid in its own right but paired with the vocal samples it makes for one of the most unique and interesting moments on the record. Guns may be my favorite song on the entire record as it sees the band getting directly political and pairing a minimal but catchy instrumental with some wonderful singing and the most thought provoking lyrics you'll find on the entire record. Finally we have Cry Cry Cry a song that starts off like something out of a Pixar movie but gets better as it goes on and once the vocals and effects really pick up it gets to be a much better tune that has grown on me since I first heard it.
Everyday Life isn't quite a return to form given how food many of Coldplay's earlier records are, but it is the first time in a long time that I have mostly positive thoughts coming out of one of their records and I have a feeling it could possibly be a stepping stone onto a big time comeback for one of my favorite alternative rock bands as a kid. Just focusing on the material on this record however, is a little bit inconsistent, but given that the highs are the bands highest of this decade and the lows don't even come close to the bottom of the barrel I think Everyday Life is a record fans and critics can be happy about. 7/10
