BoldAsLove

I'm not talking about originality in regards to Coldplay and Arcade Fire and the latter's influence on the former.

I won't say they ripped them off, but it's clear in certain places (e.g. the guitar parts on Lovers in Japan) on VLV that they had been listening to and influenced by Arcade Fire. I wrote this in my personal review of the album in another thread, but it almost never comes off well when bands with established sounds of their own begin making music which is influenced by their contemporaries.

TL;DR - Sorry! Hope you make it through my senior thesis! I haven't posted on this board probably since the Rush of Blood days, but I've still been a pretty devoted fan, so here's my two cents about Ghost Stories: First, a little background, I'm twenty-six years old and have been listening to Coldplay since "Yellow" made its debut on MTV and MTV2 and they would play it a couple of times of night between 1 and 4 AM before it really caught on with the larger public! So I've grown up listening and loving this band even through all the X&Y critical backlash! The Good: With the rise of EDM in the last half-decade and the younger demographic leaning towards music which sounds bright, carefree and optimistic, it was a pretty bold and brave move to not only simplify their sound, but also move towards darker, sonic tones. The album is concise. Since the band is dipping their toe into a darker sonic palate, it's best not to overstay your welcome in this day and age. With the decline of album sales and rise of singles, it's best to not have an able over 50 minutes and even that's pushing most people's attention spans these days. So best to keep things short. Moving away from Brian Eno and Markus Dravs, was a smart move. Not because I didn't like the last two albums (I. LOVE. THEM.), but because it shows that the band trust themselves enough to take what they learned from the experience gained to try and continuously push themselves forward and not lean on Brian/Markus to do all the heavy lifting. The Bad: Lyrics - I feel badly for stating the obvious, and I know Chris mentioned in the Zane Lowe interview that he's accepted his limitations and is satisfied because everything on the record is honest, but these lyrics are X&Y levels of bad. In this respect, it's a couple of steps backwards in their growth. And maybe in trying to respect his wife and their marriage, he didn't want to be too detailed, but the lyrics have absolutely no depth. I want to be able to feel how his heartbreak is unique to him. Some people feel get heavy minds. Some people have heavy hearts. Some people feel like stones have dropped into their stomachs. Some feel it in their blood. Some all of the above. But when CM writes that he loves someone so much it hurts. I kind of want a better description of the pain, you know? Otherwise, it's just words. Thankfully, a lot of the tunes convey more feeling with the actual music. But when that's not strong enough, a whole song is brought down and ultimately the album because of that. Lack of Balance - Although, I like the minimalist, electronic direction. There's not enough balance between electronic blips, bloops, and thumps and actual instruments. The moments when you can hear the balance between the two (Magic, Oceans, O) is when the album is most effective and most human. In short, I agree with others who would've liked to feel a bigger presence of Jonny and Guy through their respective instruments. The Breakdown: Always in My Head - Hearing the small bit of this tune from the Zane Lowe interview really got me excited because Coldplay is so great at using songs that evoke introspective and somber emotions. Chris isn't the best lyricist, we know, but band is great at putting together the most heartbreaking chord progressions that really express deeper emotions than can verbally expressed. What keeps the song from being great is that it sounds unfinished and end abruptly. It would have been nice to have a firmer resolution to the tune. Magic - I know this isn't a favorite in the Coldplay fandom, but it's my personal favorite from the album. I'm getting very heavily into bass and its role in music and I have to say the bass kills. I never get tired of hearing it, and the song feels complete. It's builds atop that bass line, hits a brief but tasty climax, and then recedes. Ink - I didn't have any idea what to expect about this song, but I didn't expect something so saccharine. And this is an example where better lyrics might salvage the tune for me, but those are also pretty bad. Not one of my favorites. True Love - The most memorable part of the tune was Johnny's solo. I loved the dissonance and thought it was a nice touch. But other than that, I'll have to listen to it a few more times to add any other comments. Midnight - The Bon Iver comparisons are inevitable and accurate. I like the track a lot. It's rather abstract which is what my ear needed after "Ink" and "True Love." It offers much needed balance. But personally, I hate to hear established artists or bands latch on to the aesthetic of relatively new artists. Not enough time has passed for me to want to hear Bon Iver filtered through another artist, which is the same reason why I couldn't get on board with Florence in the Machine-clones, Mumford clones or even a decade ago with Coldplay- or Radiohead-clones*. Another's Arms - I think this is a track that hits the mark mostly. It's intriguing enough from songwriting and production standpoints that I know I'll continue to hear things that I think are cool with each subsequent listen. Oceans - This a great track. It's a nice nod to Parachutes-era Coldplay (just like U.F.O. was for MX) without sounding like a regression for the band. And I like the imagery the song paints in my mind. It's the type of tune that'll come on during shuffle and it'll take you away to another world every time. A Sky Full of Stars - I want to like this song. I think it's pretty easy to do so, but I can't quite do it. Aviici is of a particular taste in my opinion and one of my least favorite acts to come out of the EDM trend. His synths are not just bright. They're shrill to my ear and I get (ear-)fatigued listening to his tunes. So as much as I respect Chris' decision to bring him into the fold, it ultimately feels like unnecessary addition. I think the album could have done without this type of tune and still remained a solid album. O - This is a great tune that keeps the album cohesive and serves as a gorgeous closer. I'm very anxious to hear what the reprise is going to sound like. The Conclusion: I give the album a 6 out of 10. For the most part, the concept is great. I love the direction the band decided to take, but in some really key places, the songs feel a bit incomplete. I'm glad Eno was able to shake them out of the formula they fell into from X&Y, but as I said, there's a lack of feeling of resolution. Not every song needs to have some bombastic climax, but it does need to feel like a complete statement even if the statement is brief. So it's a cool step, but it sounds like something that needed to be created so something better can replace it. Here's my personal rank: AROBTTH VLV MX Parachutes GS X&Y *(We'll ignore the early Coldplay/Radiohead similarities)