brandonp27

Here's a live a video: Not the best quality, but you can definitely get a feel for how it is live. The guitar sounds amazing. (And that transition to Fix You was quite lovely) Seriously though, as I have been promoting the album to my family and friends, all of them LOVE, LOVE, LOVE HFTW.

Say what you will about the song, it will get stuck in your head. It's the song I've kept humming unwillingly.

INITIAL thoughts (we will see in a couple of weeks) : AHFOD: Euphoric 80s rock; very U2ish (love it) Birds: HLH and Lovers in Japan combined with a dash of Arcade Fire and Indie Rock (Love it, love it, love it!) HFTW: A good Beyoncé song, an odd Coldplay song (can't get over the "drunk and high" lyrics even though they are metaphorical "life's a drink and love's a drug", but I love the arcade synths at the end, and I can't lie this has been the song that's been stuck in my head) Everglow: I think it's very pretty, honestly. AOAL: Funky disco music; gotta love it Fun: It's like Mika doing a cover of Viva la Vida; Tove Lo actually makes a nice contribution; one of the better moments on the album; the "didn't we have fun?" lyrics are nice and definitely come from the original "Fun" which was given to Natalie Imbruglia (would have been a great fit here too and I'll just continue to wish that Coldplay redo "Lukas" and "Fun"). Kaleidoscope: nice transition (intro of it perhaps Radio Waltz?), nice poem; I wish more "Amazing Grace" was also included. Army of One: I expected more since the snippet was pretty intriguing. I love the chopped up vocals, the electronic organ is also nice. I think it's only problem is that it's repetitive, yet if you listen close, the melody very much resembles Coldplay's older works. X Marks the Spot: At first I was like "what the heck" then I was like "okay" then I was like "cool"; it sounds like Chris reading off some rhymes he got from Jay-Z and Katy Perry's lyricist; other than that, the music (especially that guitar) is actually pretty cool. Amazing Day: the production is similar to the live version which is nice; the strings are quite gorgeous Color Spectrum: a nice reprise of AHFOD intro and Kaleidoscope Up&Up: saddened by the shallow production; it sounds like it features the Blue Man Group banging on pipes to make the "bloop" sounds, the chorus is not as euphoric, but at least the choir is audible. The guitar solos are still prominent which is nice; the ending is excellent though, very much like Charlie Brown's soft piano ending. Coldplay's album closers are all amazing. So, overall, I like the album. It's pretty fun to listen to, and some stuff gets stuck in your head. I'd say there are very high points and low points, at times you'll love it, and at times you'll just hate it. Yet, isn't living life like that? If this album aims to portray life and all it's ups and downs, I'd say it does it perfectly.

I think it's beautiful! The piano is extremely lovely and the rawness of Chris's voice is actually quite nice. The guitars towards the end are also great, very X&Yish. I can see why Chris keeps talking about how AHFOD is the culmination of all their other works. You can hear every album's unique style in each of these songs.

That was incredible.....A Head Full of Dreams and Up&Up are amazing openers and closers

And they're having fun while they're back at it. And I'm having fun listening to their music again!

Obviously this isn't Coldplay's greatest song, but I appreciate how the whole band is involved and how different it is. It is otherwise instrumentally impressive, tight, clean and very fun. The funky, groovy rhythm is very infectious. I really feel like dancing all over the place. I love how it heralds back to 70s disco as well as 80s rock. I'll have to admit this is the song I've always wished Coldplay would try. I myself am a fan of the neo-disco and neo-80s trend that has been occurring lately. The little details in a song always get me and AOAL has many: when Chris sings about his heartbeat the music muffles to the drum beat and bass, the cowbell percussion and the claps (so disco-like), the backing voices, and the acoustic guitar riff at the end. I hope AHFOD really showcases the band's talent despite the genre, which is what AOAL seems to be hinting towards. In summary, I love it. Very fun and fresh, though I expect some better tracks on the rest of the album. 7.5/10