If you have not yet in your life heard of Coldplay, you are probably living under a rock. If you are confused, though, the band that started in 1996 has been producing A-list music since the formation of the band. Some of their biggest hits have been "Yellow," "Fix You," "Magic," "A Sky Full of Stars," and many others. On Dec. 4, 2015, the band release their seventh, and what might look to be their last, album, "A Head Full of Dreams." To all my Coldplay fanatics out there, this seems as if it is an end of an era (and quite honestly it is), but lead singer, Chris Martin, said this about the album in an interview with Rolling Stone, "It's our seventh thing, and the way we look at it, it's like the last Harry Potter book or something like that."
On the very first song on their very first album, Coldplay introduced themselves with a heartfelt declaration: "We live in a beautiful world." Fifteen years and some 80 million albums sold later, the British quartet haven’t elaborated on that philosophy—they’ve just amplified it. Where massive success has a tendency to make bands more jaded and aloof, Coldplay only seems more gobsmacked and in awe of life itself. Their songs aren’t just designed to uplift, they’re often about the very sensation of being uplifted. But on the band’s seventh album, "A Head Full of Dreams," the band’s relentless campaign to raise our spirits is liable to induce altitude sickness.
The 2014 album "Ghost Stories," is a stagnant and depressive predecessor for the uplifting nature of this album, as it was based on Martin's high-key breakup with Gwyneth Paltrow. The new album exemplifies Martin's growth from the events and his movement away from his fear of love he set on his sleeve. The growth in music is shown through the growth in moving a monoculture in ways never thought possible. They’re the only rock band that could (and would want to) wrangle Beyoncé, Noel Gallagher, Tove Lo, Norwegian Top 40 architects Stargate, Kendrick Lamar producer Daniel Green, alt-rock lifer Nik Simpson, and “Gimme Shelter” scene-stealer Merry Clayton on the same record.
The songs, though hinting at experimentation, fall just as fast back into the norms of Coldplay music that all fans have grown to know and love. Although that is true, the album holds some new sound to it, that may not have been heard before from listeners. Martin recently told the Wall Street Journal that he wanted "Hymn for the Weekend" to be the sort of single that would soundtrack a bottle-service bender at a nightclub and, essentially, that spirit of bonhomie permeates the entirety of "A Head Full of Dreams." Except too often, the album’s pat platitudes place us on the other side of the velvet rope, left to ponder the sight of some self-satisfied people having the time of their lives.
Just as powerful as every Coldplay album is, this will never top the classic. Just as good wine, though, good music ages with time. Though this may be the end of the Coldplay era, this amazing music will live on, entrapping listeners for years to come in its beauty. If giving a score this album would rate at about 4.7 out of 5.
Coldplay said they have never enjoyed making a record more than this one. Nor have they been happier with the results, and they hope to tour for this album in the near future.
Sadly, the album has not yet been released on Spotify, but Spotify said they are trying. Until then, go buy the album, show the band support, this is a memory that you will want to last. Keep your head full of dreams and your radio full of Coldplay CDs, this is, after all, the last chance you have.
Track Listing:
- A Head Full Of Dreams
- Amazing Day
- Adventure Of A Lifetime
- Birds
- Hymn For The Weekend
- Everglow
- Fun
- Kaleidoscope
- Army Of One
- Colour Spectrum
- Up & Up
- X Marks The Spot
