Hi. My name is Michael, and I like Coldplay.
Or at least I did for a while. That last album (XYZ) of more of the same pretty much did them in for me. I think I played it two or three times before shelving it. Then I read last year that they had decided to record with Brian Eno at the producer's helm, and that intrigued me. He has a proven ability to reshape a popular band's sound - just ask U2, or Talking Heads, and he can be both formulaic and experimental. I picked up the resulting album Viva La Vida... this morning and been able to listen to it twice.
I am pleased with what I have heard. Co-produced by the band and Eno cohort Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire/Björk), you can spot the changes right away. There is a far more worldly sound at play here, apparent from the opening instrumental with it's hammered dulcimer. It is a tougher, harder rocking set with political overtones, and Eno's "sonic landscapes" work well with the band's dynamics. There are still several classic Coldplay moments, but there are also several songs where you might find yourself wondering who it is thats playing. I think that I'll be listening to this one more than just a couple of times. I just played Eno's Here Come The Warm Jets yesterday, so his influence here is freshly apparent to me, especially when you listen to the massed guitars and dense percussion of Strawberry Swing.
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