This is undoubtedly one of the years most anticipated albums and the followup to A Rush of Blood to the Head. First of all, a bit of background. I’ve been a Coldplay fan since hearing Parachutes and have seen them twice live, at Witnness and The Point, and they were fantastic live. If I wasn’t going to Prague in a couple of weeks then I’d definitely be at their Marley Park gig and am sad to miss it on the strength of their previous albums plus the recent addition of X&Y. So to the track analysis:
Track 1 – Square One: Not one of my favourite songs on the album but a solid opener which reflects some of the bigger tracks they’ve done before.
Track 2 – What If?: Superb song and one I’ll be playing over and over again for the next few months. Starts off nice and slow with Chris and the piano but kicks off half way through.
Track 3 – White Shadows: One of those tracks which hits the middle-ground for me. I’m not overly keen on it. Seems a tad over produced.
Track 4 – Fix You: A track which again starts slowly but has some excellent lyrics (“Tears stream down your face, when you lose something you cannot replace”) and rythem. Acoustic guitar kicks in half way through and then progresses to electric as the song builds to a crescendo. Definite single.
Track 5 – Talk: Another definite single, with a catchy guitar riff. Sounds a tad like U2 with the great riff and lyrics. Only criticism is that it feels a tad long. I’d chop about 20 seconds off it. 😛
Track 6 – X & Y: The title track is beautifully melodic and is classic Coldplay.
Track 7 – Speed of Sound: As the first single I wasn’t too impressed with this song when it was released. However, it has grown on me over the past few weeks and I think this album as a whole needs time to grow on you as with A Rush of Blood to the Head.
Track 8 – A Message: A slower track in comparison to the others and is one of those take it or leave it tracks.
Track 9 – Low: Probably my least favourite song off the album and I really don’t know why. Don’t think it’s Coldplay’s best “sound”.
Track 10 – The Hardest Part: A marked improvement in tone on Low and a song which wouldn’t be out of place on any of the older albums.
Track 11 – Swallowed in the Sea: Another strong contender for a single this initially sounds like a simple ballad but, as with most of the tracks on the album, it builds to something more. I could see myself using this in a soundtrack for a film.
Track 12 – Twisted Logic: This track made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Perfect track to close out the “official” tracklist. Love the line “Hundreds of years in the future, there could be computers looking for life on Earth.” 🙂
Track 13 – ‘Til Kingdom Come: A song written by the lads for Johnny Cash but alas, he died before they could record it. This vies for the title of “Tony’s Top Track Off the Album” and is beautiful in its composition and tone. Superb stuff. 😀
Overall, considering the fact that I’ve listened to it 11 times :shock:, it’s a superb album and one which will take pride of place on my MP3 player. The only thing I’m sad about is the fact that I’ll miss the chance to see these tracks performed live next week. Hopefully I’ll get the chance later in the year.
Went to see Editors last night in Whelans. Apparently the gig was sold out for ages beforehand so I dropped Kate, a friend of mine who works in concert promotion, an email and she got myself and Dave on the guestlist. These guys are on the up and up and their debut album, Back Room, has been on my iRiver for a couple of weeks now. The venue itself is quite small with perhaps 200 people able to stand in it. We got in quite early so stood at the front of the stage. 
Channel One were the support band and they had a great 80s style sound combining synths and strings to great effect. They played about 7 songs and then the stage was set up for Editors. Dave was the one who insisted we go to the gig in the first place and he knew a hell of a lot more about the band then I did. They started their set with Lights, a great track and one which got the crowd going straight away. Standout tracks from the night included Blood, Fingers in the Factories, Open Your Arms, All Sparks and my favourite track Bullets. Fantastic gig, these guys are gonna be big.