ISO50

The relevance of a band like Coldplay can be argued all day and while I can’t really say I’m a fan of everything they do, I’ve definitely enjoyed a fair amount of their releases over the years. So as you no doubt know they have a new album out called Viva La Vida and it’s sort of a hit and miss affair for me. Whatever you think of the album, you can’t deny the quality of the production, which comes courtesy of the man, the legend, Brian Eno (pictured above). Eno essentially invented ambient music and since the early 70’s he has produced an ever-growing pile of amazing records for bands like U2 and David Bowie. So I was pretty surprised to hear he was working with Coldplay for this new record, and pretty anxious to hear the results. Needless to say, I’m not finding myself in love with the album as a whole, but it has it’s moments. One, very short, moment that really stands out is the first track, Life In Technicolor. It sort of straddles the line between electronic and rock and we are momentarily spared the weight of Chris Martin’s heavy-handed lyrics. The space that’s left allows a brilliant glimpse of what a talented bunch of musicians working under the direction of a music god can create. I think there should be a law that states that any rock band releasing a new record has to tell their lead singer to shut up, just for one song, so we can hear another side of the band. It almost always works out.

The image above is a shot of Brian Eno from the cover of his 1977 solo release, Before And After Science. I didn’t post this cover because it’s repulsive. I don’t know what it is about it that doesn’t work for me, it just makes it feel like I am buying a hair metal record or some Gun’s ‘n’ Roses box set or something.

Coldplay – Life In Technicolor

Cover image courtesey of Sleevery