Midnight reviews

[Tash]

'I'm In Love!': Coldplay Fans Share Excitement As Band Release Surprise New Single

'Midnight'Coldplay did a Beyonce last night as they unveiled their shock new single

 

Coldplay pulled a Beyonce last night as they released their brand new single Midnight without any warning and majority of the Twittersphere have only good things to say about the band's latest track, with some users that aren't normally a fan admitting that they love it.

 

The last track that Coldplay released was Atlas, that featured on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack and with fans desperate for new music, the band have definitely catered to their needs, also adding a surprise factor into the mix!

 

But, does the unknown release date really work? The band's fanbase certainly think so, with majority saying that they are in love with the new material.

 

One fan shared: "#midnight @coldplay IM IN LOVE" whilst another added: "i really love the new @coldplay song #midnight #leavealighton"

 

Another Twitter user shared: "in love with 'midnight' by coldplay. so beautiful. I love this artistic direction Coldplay is going into #Midnight" with another also gushing over the single: "#Coldplay new song.impressive."

 

And for one excited fan, Coldplay have manged to make her love them once again: "Midnight has only rekindled the fire of my love for @coldplay...time to obsess again  Coldplays reinventing themselves! Love the the Track! #coldplay #midnight #newera"

 

Some Twitter users weren't fans pre-Midnight, but they definitely are now!

 

One posted: "I'm not really a fan of Coldplay but gd 'midnight' was most excellent" with another adding: "Normally I'm not a Coldplay fan but I dig this one!" (sic)

 

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[Tash]

Coldplay surprises with ‘Midnight’

 

Yesterday, Coldplay dropped a new single, “Midnight,” right out of the interweb vortex with no warning whatsoever. As I type, the video has yet to reach over a half-million views on YouTube, a mere drop in its ocean of music videos by major bands. It’s yet unknown if the track is part of an upcoming album. Given that the band hasn’t released a full-length in three years, it certainly wouldn’t be surprising. The single, however, is a different story.

“Midnight” doesn’t sound like a single. It has no memorable chorus. Its lyrics are obscured by Chris Martin’s breathy, soaring delivery. Its one build-up is acutely restrained and controlled. Instead, a pulsating, soft beat and an airy, persistent guitar line stand at “Midnight”’s heart. Glimpses of Coldplay’s past material — a gorgeous, sparse guitar line and a melody that echoes Paradise — peer out of the atmosphere, but never hang around for long. Instead, the song slowly and subtly shifts from place to place. The song alternates between pure atmosphere and angelic vocal verses before finally building into a subdued instrumental trance, which disintegrates back into a last verse.

 

It would be easy to say that Coldplay is piggybacking here. The vocal effects on Chris’s voice sound very, very similar to those James Blake and Bon Iver have brought to prominence. But given the instrumentation, the form and the consistent beat at the heart of “Midnight”, that just wouldn’t be fair. Coldplay’s new single is simply a piece of very accessible, restrained ambient music crafted by a rock band. Every obvious element of Coldplay’s pop songs has been trimmed away to leave a pulsing heart — one of energy and smooth aesthetic beauty.

 

It’s an extremely bold maneuver. If released by a band any smaller, this song would have zero chance of being played on the radio. It has no “logo,” no recognizable trademark like a catchy chorus or intro to help sell it to an audience. It’s calm and patient, two elements in opposition to the dance and rap so commonly found on today’s Top 40. No matter what is said about “Midnight,” it’s hard to claim this is any sort of sell-out or cash grab, because “Midnight” is in no way a pop song.

 

There’s only one thing stopping me from proclaiming “Midnight” an extremely important piece of music in today’s pop scene: It’s not that memorable. What Coldplay is doing here is certainly going to be new to many of their fans. But in the genre of electronic music, “Midnight” doesn’t stand out. There are many artists making songs featuring beautiful airy vocals, smooth atmospheres and almost-danceable beats. The songs that are prominent in the genre – “Hiders” by Burial and Kindness’s cover of “Swingin’ Party” come to mind – exude strong emotions, whereas “Midnight” seems to just roll along on some vaguely epic, but inexpressive, adventure.

 

Coldplay’s single marks a new step for the band, one in a rather interesting direction that would bring a new type of music to mainstream spotlight. However, “Midnight” as a song is somewhat unspectacular, presenting an interesting sound without especially remarkable elements. Hopefully we’ll get the best of both worlds on an album soon to come.

 

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[Tash]

And some foreign reviews:

 

Mixed reactions to new single Coldplay (Dutch)

http://www.nieuwsblad.be/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20140225_032

 

The new Coldplay song (Italian)

http://www.ilpost.it/2014/02/25/nuova-canzone-coldplay-midnight/

 

Coldplay amaze with "Midnight" (German)

http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/musik/coldplay-exklusive-videopremiere-von-midnight-a-955618.html

 

NEW VIDEO: MIDNIGHT COLDPLAY (French)

http://www.musiqueplus.com/sur-le-fil/nouveaute-clip-midnight-de-coldplay-1.1258141

 

Coldplay releases new song called 'Midnight' (Spanish)

http://aftermusiic.blogspot.nl/2014/02/coldplay-lanza-nuevo-tema-llamado.html

[Tash]

"Midnight": I know what Coldplay is doing

 

I assume you've at least heard of Coldplay. I might be so bold as to assume you've heard a Coldplay song. Perhaps you've heard the band's newest song "Midnight," which has been averaging more than 1 million YouTube views per day since its release. The song sounds kind of weird, doesn't it? I must admit, it doesn't sound like anything you'd hear on the radio. It doesn't even sound like Coldplay. I just think you should know, Coldplay has never really had its own sound anyways.

 

Coldplay released its first single "Brothers and Sisters," as well as its first music video "Bigger Stronger," in 1999. I may not be George Washington, but I won’t lie about this: Coldplay was basically a soft rock rip-off of Radiohead. Chris Martin's voice was the meager impression of Thom Yorke, and Jonny Buckland had Jonny Greenwood's guitar effects down to a T. Fifteen years later, Coldplay is now one of the biggest bands in the world. They recently released a track with some nocturnal electronica vibes, which might seem cool and futuristic to people who only listen to popular music. This is new territory for Coldplay, but the band's influences are just as borrowed as they were 15 years ago.

 

Chris Martin isn't impersonating Thom Yorke on "Midnight," but with the help of a vocoder, he sounds a darn lot like Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. The line "when I'm rolling with the punches" uses the exact same note-for-note hook that is heard on the line "'til one night, one stormy night" on the band’s 2011 hit "Paradise." These factors prove Coldplay's lack of originality. However, this new track is produced by Jon Hopkins, an electronica artist who made one of my personal favorite albums of 2013. "Midnight" isn't nearly as corny as anything from 2011's "Mylo Xyloto." These aspects give me some hope for Coldplay's future. I'm still just on the fence about this new song, but I'm not budging any time soon. After all, Coldplay has spent its entire career on the fence.

 

Coldplay has tried mimicking everyone from Radiohead to U2, from Arcade Fire to New Order, and apparently are now stretching from Bon Iver to Jon Hopkins. I'm curious: What does Coldplay sound like?

 

Coldplay was one of my personal favorite bands growing up. I am now cynical and have abandoned my childhood music tastes. Don't get me wrong, Coldplay deserves some credit for consistently trying new things; they just need to stop taking baby steps in different directions and take an artistic leap forward. "Midnight" is a baby step into the world of overly popular hipster music. People who wear fake glasses and expensive scarves might play this song on their iPhone after some M83 or Matt & Kim. The song is a cry for hipster cred. At the same time, Coldplay remains blandly ambient enough that your mom might dig this song. “Midnight” may sound dark, but never too dark. Martin repeats "leave a light on" five times here.

 

I know what Coldplay is doing. Something different, nothing bold.

 

I hope "Midnight" doesn't trick you into thinking Coldplay is a weird band now. I hope you explore the history of pop music genres and learn all the different artists that have already been making music like this. I hope you decide to take progressive leaps in your lives, and as Chris Martin sang in 2002, "I hope you understand."

 

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