Viva la Vida [Slipcase]

Performer: Coldplay
Engineer: Andy Rugg; Dan Green
Distributor: EMI Music Distribution

Notes: On 2008's VIVA LA VIDA OR DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS, Coldplay follows up X&Y's accessible anthems by tweaking its signature Britpop sound with the aid of renowned producer Brian Eno, celebrated not only for his own innovative ambient albums, but also for his behind-the-boards work with U2. Eno's contributions don't result in a ZOOROPA-like foray into dance-pop, however--VIVA LA VIDA sticks with Coldplay's knack for mid-tempo majesty, but expands these tracks with studio bells and whistles that pull the group out of its stadium-ready comfort zone. Though the pulsing instrumental opener, "Life in Technicolor," might make listeners think that they're accidentally playing the latest M83 album, VIVA asserts itself as a Coldplay outing with "Cemeteries of London," a dreamy tune that finds Martin singing in a comfortable middle register. Still, the group's quest for a different sound is exemplified by the three distinctly different parts of "42," which range from piano ballad to post-rock workout, while "Violet Hill" boasts uncharacteristically amped-up guitars and crashing percussion. VIVA LA VIDA isn't Coldplay's most consistent offering, but it's still more unpredictable than past outings, and surprisingly intriguing. When Coldplay sampled Kraftwerk on their third album, X&Y, it was a signifier for the British band, telegraphing their classicist good taste while signaling how they prefer the eternally hip to the truly adventurous; it was stylish window dressing for soft arena rock. Hiring Brian Eno to produce the bulk of their fourth album, Viva la Vida, is another matter entirely. Eno pushes them, not necessarily to experiment but rather to focus and refine, to not leave their comfort zone but to find some tremulous discomfort within it. In his hands, this most staid of bands looks to shake things up, albeit politely, but such good manners are so inherent to Coldplay's DNA that they remain courteous even when they experiment. With his big-budget production, Eno has a knack for amplifying an artist's personality, as he allows bands to be just as risky as they want to be -- which is quite a lot in the case of U2 and James and even Paul Simon, but not quite so much with Coldplay. And yet this gentle encouragement -- he's almost a kindly uncle giving his nephews permission to rummage through his study -- pays great dividends for Coldplay, as it winds up changing the specifics without altering the core. They wind up with the same self-styled grandiosity; they've just found a more interesting way to get to the same point. Gone are Chris Martin's piano recitals and gone are the washes of meticulously majestic guitar, replaced by orchestrations of sound, sometimes literally consisting of strings but usually a tapestry of synthesizers, percussion, organs, electronics, and guitars that avoid playing riffs. Gone too are simpering schoolboy ballads like "Fix You," and along with them the soaring melodies designed to fill arenas. In fact, there are no insistent hooks to be found anywhere on Viva la Vida, and there are no clear singles in this collection of insinuatingly ingratiating songs. This reliance on elliptical melodies isn't off-putting -- alienation is alien to Coldplay -- and this is where Eno's guidance pays off, as he helps sculpt Viva la Vida to work as a musical whole, where there are long stretches of instrumentals and where only "Strawberry Swing," with its light, gently infectious melody and insistent rhythmic pulse, breaks from the album's appealingly meditative murk. Whatever iciness there is to the sound of Viva la Vida is warmed by Martin's voice, but the music is by design an heir to the earnest British art rock of '80s Peter Gabriel and U2 -- arty enough to convey sober intelligence without seeming snobby, the kind of album that deserves to take its title from Frida Kahlo and album art from Eugene Delacroix. That Delacroix painting depicts the French Revolution, so it does fit that Martin tones down his relentless self-obsession -- the songs aren't heavy on lyrics and some are shockingly written in character -- which is a development as welcome as the expanded sonic palette. Martin's refined writing topics may be outpaced by the band's guided adventure, but they're both indicative that Coldplay are desperate to not just strive for the title of great band -- a title they seem to believe that they're to the manor born -- but to actually burrow into the explorative work of creating music. And so the greatest thing Coldplay may have learned from Eno is his work ethic, as they demonstrate a focused concentration throughout this tight album -- it's only 47 minutes yet covers more ground than X&Y and arguably A Rush of Blood to the Head -- that turns Viva la Vida into something quietly satisfying. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone (p.73) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[With] stadium-scale melodies and singalong choruses....The experimentation makes this their most musically interesting album to date..." Rolling Stone (p.89) - Ranked #7 in Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums Of 2008 -- "[A]n album that's massively expansive yet intimate enough to incite lighter-waving from London to Tokyo." Spin (p.91) - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "[T]here's no doubting that VIVA LA VIDA, with its sturdy melodies and universal themes -- think love, war, and peace -- is an album meant to connect with the masses....The band's triumph lies in how exciting they make that prospect seem." Spin (p.51) - Ranked #09 in Spin's "40 Best Albums Of 2008" -- "[The songs] burned with the audible passion of a great band getting back on track." Entertainment Weekly (p.65) - "[The album] feels emboldened at almost every turn. Jonny Buckland's guitars howl insistently; Martin has discovered sub-falsetto vocal registers; and a stark, recurring string section lends an edge." -- Grade: A- Q (Magazine) (p.95) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A]n emphatic success -- radical in its own measured way but easy to embrace." Blender (Magazine) (pp.69-70) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[The album] has all the hallmarks of daring artistic independence....Songs fade in and out through washes of somber electronics..." Clash (magazine) (p.122) - "Coldplay have stretched their limits, reaching to capture the zeitgeist, and in doing so have made the album the universe has been waiting for....We get Coldplay with the windows thrown open. Album of the year? Most probably." Clash (magazine) (p.67) - Ranked #14 in Clash's "The 40 Best Albums of 2008" -- "Here, visions were broadened, sonic landscapes lavishly crafted, themes of death and loss permeated..."

In 2000, Coldplay emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become a worldwide smash with their debut album PARACHUTES and hit single "Yellow." While oft lumped in with the Britpop crowd, they favor a more thoughtful, melodic, Travis-esque piano-centric pop approach than arena-rock chest-beaters like Oasis. Led by charismatic frontman Chris Martin, the band expanded its horizons (and its fanbase) throughout the aughts, while remaining true to its basic form. One of the only British rock bands of their era to make a major impact on the US charts, Coldplay prove that simple, memorable, straightforward pop-rock can still be striking even in the post-everything 21st century.

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