42Escapist

You know something I didn't really want more of from Coldplay until now? Long instrumental sections. Arabesque executes that perfectly. I had really hoped to hear more material with Brian Eno. I hope he's credited at least on this track. Yeah, there was some concern that they'd go with more of the Los Unidades sound since after all it was world music-inspired pop. This is harder hitting, less simplistic, more bold. Gosh I can't get enough of these tracks. I notice something new every time. It's those little things that help give the songs so much replay value outside of just how catchy the melodies are.

Holy s**t They did it. They actually did it. Apart from Midnight, these two tracks are the most inventive thing they've done since... I daresay 2008. I'm not sure which track is better. Orphans is like Lovers In Japan meets Strawberry Swing and ETIAW. But with more of a world music kind of beat, and with a more infectious chorus than either of those two songs. The song is catchy and fun, yet... so meaningful. It doesn't manage to be too sappy. I wasn't sure what to think when I saw a few of the lyrics, but it makes so much sense in context. And having the kids sing that chorus works so well. I've listened several times now and I still have nothing bad to say. Maybe it should be a bit longer, but that's really all I would change. Listen to Guy... :heart_eyes: Arabesque is what happens when Yes meets Cemeteries of London and we throw in extra Arabic music. That rhythm is so badass. Listen to that French verse. Listen to that saxophone, that guitar tone in the background of the solo, listen to Guy and Jonny, whose parts are honestly the foundation the song is built upon. Listen to the hints of shoegaze in the outro. It's all so daring, it reminds me of Viva yet at the same time it feels new. It feels like a bold new step into uncharted territory. And it somehow manages to be darker yet fun at the same time. Gosh, I have nothing bad to say about these tracks. Listened a few more times just as I was typing this out and I still have no gripes. This pair of songs is something very special.

I'm holding out for a couple more hours because not only do I have class right when the songs drop, but I also don't want to listen to leaks. These early reactions are promising, though. Sounds like I may enjoy these songs more than a lot of Coldplay's output from the past few eras. After seeing the preview of Chris' interview and peeking at the lyrics, I'm thinking that this album will revolve around a theme of humanity all being in this together, through all the good and bad going on in this world throughout our everyday lives. It'll be something humanistic like AHFOD, for sure, but it'll dig deeper. Believing in love is great, but what is love? Why should we love? How can we love? Who is especially in need of love? “It seems to me that one of things that might help people have a better time is to put themselves in other people’s shoes, whether that’s these kids who have to leave Syria, or who grew up in Baltimore, or whatever it might be. Rather than judging from afar, maybe to think ‘I wonder what it’s like to be there.’” https://www.nme.com/news/music/coldplays-chris-martin-explains-inspiration-behind-new-tracks-orphans-arabesque-new-album-everyday-life-2560487/amp

Just please don't give us another X Marks the Spot, that "Heart goes boom boom boom boom" lyric was all that really worried me about the leaked snippets.

The B-side will be Monkey's Paw :p Honestly, in that clip, Chris is probably just playing along with all this fandom madness. The whole band is probably peeking at all the speculation and having a good laugh.

I know you don't listen to meme, 'cause you say you see straight through meme, don't you?

Okay, perhaps that isn't a banjo I was hearing in the 15 second clip :joy: I was listening without my headphones that I had shamefully forgotten. Sounds like it's just a very raw acoustic guitar alongside Johnny's unmistakable tone. I really do think that clip is Orphans, and the other one is probably Arabesque. Maybe it's Trouble In Town, but I'm inclined to think it's Arabesque. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being more of a rocker. Good, another Oldplayer who's trying to be optimistic! :D Some bassists do play in a somewhat higher register, so I wouldn't be too shocked. Guy does it on songs like Magic and Low so it isn't too weird to assume that he's doing it again. They have unearthed songs and released them before, plus we have Arabesque here which is a title that has been known since... 2008 or 2009? Gosh I want to see if you're right, it'd be interesting.

That'd make more sense, one single from each half of the album.

There was a rumor I saw that we may get two singles tomorrow... Orphans and Church, I think?

Found in the classifieds...! Wow! Wasn't this phrase decoded from some of the artwork a couple days ago? Nice! So already a couple tracks have leaked...

It kind of sounds like Will singing at the end if you ask me.

I'm trying not to raise my expectations too high, because I remember comparing the AOAL teaser to Violet Hill and that song turned out to be so different from what I expected. But man oh man do I love this clip

Definitely sounds radio-friendly with that melody and that "My heart's going boom-boom-boom-boom" lyric (which does sound like X Marks the Spot...), but again, it's refreshing.

I like it... the sound quality is dreadful, but what I can hear is fresh. Is that a mandolin or a freaking banjo I hear?!? :eek:

I haven't seen a single post about this in the past week after I came out of my Coldplaying hiatus but what if we get hidden tracks again? In which case there could be more than 8 songs per each side of the album, maybe even 9 or 10. I seem to recall them saying something about not doing hidden tracks ever again after X Marks the Spot but then again, they could have changed their mind. It looks like they would have less than a month to change things this time around. But then again as long as there is time and as long as the label hasn't made them settle on something for the purpose of the physical release, they could conceivably still switch the order around as they please and even change track names...

I'd be down for aspects of the 8 greyed out songs being integrated into new material without necessarily being reworked. Borrowing a lyric or a melody here and there? If it fits in the context of the song, I won't really think of it as not being inventive as long as other aspects of the song do something new. Just don't cram so much old stuff into a new song that it starts to feel like a rework rather than something new. It's like what someone said a couple pages back about the last U2 album Songs of Experience borrowing bits and pieces from its predecessor Songs of Innocence. Two songs on the former each borrow an entire chorus from previously existing songs. Yet, in my opinion... it works. The difference here is that these would be Coldplay songs across the band's whole career.

Speaking of backing tracks... does anyone else here remember the fuss around here over Clocks on the AHFOD tour? With Chris lip-syncing? I understand why he did it - his voice is changing as he gets older and he probably wanted to keep the fans happy without straining his voice too much. The man just doesn't have the heart to deprive the audience of a powerful, recognizable song that got a lot of people into Coldplay in the first place. And it really didn't detract from the experience when I was at Glasto... the crowd was very much into it. But it still felt a bit weird. Oh, what I would give to hear those songs you suggested... especially Speed of Sound and Talk, but they seem dislike most of X&Y (apart from, I'd assume, Fix You and Til Kingdom Come) and tend to resort to stripped-down versions of the songs that sound good but may be abbreviated. Like, they always cut an entire verse out of Speed of Sound when they do decide to play it. I'm hoping you're right about a different flavor of Coldplay tour, though... "moody," "stark," and "triumphant in spirit"? Sounds like Viva to me. :viva: Please, just please bring back Politik and Shiver. Bring back something more obscure. And don't tease a song by soundchecking it over and over without ever including it in the set. : unamused: *cough* One I Love *cough*

I'm all for them playing ALIENS and LiT II. It annoyed me quite a bit when they never played the former in 2017, and the latter has been gone for too long at this point. I wish I could have seen it on the Viva tour. Hopefully my professor understands. One does not simply deprive me of new Coldplay and get away with it. :joy:

Update: so now it's working? Weird. I'm not sure what to think, the feature has hardly been working for me.

The good: AHFOD is more inventive than most of what bands like Panic! At the Disco, Maroon 5 and OneRepublic have done in recent years. I think it has some truly heartfelt moments like Up&Up, Amazing Day, and Everglow, and Army of One is experimentation done right. The bad: The album was poorly produced. I think Mylo and Ghost Stories are also overproduced, but Stargate just makes things sound too artificial. I would've appreciated less electronic drums, Guy's bass more prominent in the mix, just a sound that better reflects what the songs ended up sounding like live. Also? Imagine a heavier version of Adventure of a Lifetime. That main riff is something special, but the song ends up turning into Daft Punk's Get Lucky in the verses when it could be soaring like The Killers' Human. The ugly: X Marks the Spot is trash. Sounds like a Justin Bieber cover. Hymn for the Weekend is... well... I get the point behind the song, I kinda like the "high on love and life" message, but it's just too cheesy.

I'm hoping some of those videos are teaser clips, like whatever it is that's supposedly being prepped for the website according to the code that was unearthed.

Thankfully not, almost did as a kid though! Have you ever been to a professional soccer/football match?

I want to see something like the Ink video again! It was really interesting how they stuck with a choose-your-own-adventure format and then used the most popular choices from fans to piece together the official video. They should try that kind of format again, it'd be a cool way to engage with the fans.

For some reason I haven't been able to access the toolbar above the text box for the past couple of days. I can't edit the font in any way, can't attach links, and can't use smilies. It's greyed out on my end: