Yawn...
I think it's funny everybody hyped this thing as the "new sounding Coldplay". To me it sounds like everything else and just proves that Coldplay are a one-trick pony. I do like their sound but honestly, I'm kind of getting tired of it. Back when Parachutes came out I thought Coldplay offered a refreshing new sound to the scene. Not quite Radiohead, not quite U2, Coldplay's sound seemed to fit nicely into the rock/pop genre. When "A Rush of Blood to the Head" came out they stuck with their original formula and produced another killer album. When "X&Y" came out people began to wonder if that basic formula was really all they could do. "Viva La Vida" was supposed to be the album that broke free. Free of their stereotype that haunted their last couple of albums. They failed...
This album just sounds like Eno came in and Enyanized the whole thing. The overdubbed vocals, stabbing Enya chords and new age tribal beats got boring by about track three. Everything else sounds roughly the same. The album starts off and ends with a nice synth hook reminiscent of something off of Eno's "Discreet Music" album. The first couple minutes of instrumental actually started off real promising. I laughed out loud when track two started as it was right back to that old Coldplay sound we have all heard over and over and over. I'll probably listen to it for a week or two and it will collect dust as X&Y did a few years ago. As for Eno he should continue his work as a solo minimalist artist. Either that or stick with producing more talented bands like U2 that can actually appreciate and apply some of his weirder musical principles.
-T
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