Coldplay - Viva La Vida

As a fan from Coldplay's very early days (I still have "Parachutes" as one of my favorite albums of the last decade. I have to admit that I was somewhat apprehensive about the new album, which has been widely touted as Coldplay's 'experimental' album. One of the things touted was that the album would feature sounds recorded in a Barcelona church, as if anyone really cares about that, in the end we just want to hear good songs/a good album. Three years after "X&Y", finally comes Coldplay's 4th studio album.

"Violet Hill" for me the best song on the album, even without it being catchy as such. The album's closer "Death and All of His Friends" crashes in after a pensive beginning.

In all, this album makes clear that this is not the Coldplay of yesteryear. Even "X&Y" sounds dated by this. There isn't a single "catchy" song as such on here. "Speed of Sound" from "X&Y", the last link to the earlier Coldplay instantly recognizable sound, sounds far, far away now. No falsetto singing from Chris Martin is to be found here.

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