Coldplay releases (potential) last hurrah

In case anyone has not noticed the banner on top of the iTunes store or the excited articles all across the music-related parts of the Internet, Coldplay released a new album on Friday. With songs like “Yellow” (2000), “Viva la Vida” (2008) and “Paradise” (2011) comprising just a smattering of its hits across the years and an even smaller cross-section of their opus, Coldplay is certifiably one of the most successful bands of our day. The band frequents award ceremonies, has wracked up numerous Grammy wins and nominations and, back in 2009, was voted the fourth-best artist of the 2000s by Rolling Stone readers. 

Founded in 1996 by lead vocalist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland, Coldplay first produced music under the name Pectoralz while its founders studied at University College London. The band grew into its current name in 1998, when it added its last member. Interestingly, while the group is generally known as a quartet, there are actually five members. Phil Harvey, the manager, is considered a fifth member.

For all its success, Coldplay may have an uncertain future. In an interview with Zane Lowe on BBC Radio 1 last year on its then-upcoming release, Martin said, “It's our seventh thing, and the way we look at it, it's like the last Harry Potter book or something like that. Not to say there might not be another thing one day, but this is the completion of something.” Some have read this statement as an indication that Coldplay plans to disband after touring “A Head Full of Dreams,” though it may simply indicate a change of pace for the group going forward. After all, J.K. Rowling still writes books, and the world kept spinning after “The Deathly Hallows” (2007).

Martin, in another 2014 interview with Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2, also noted that the band looked to take its music in an uplifting direction on its new album. A listen to their latest work indicates that the band may have changed its intentions by the time “A Head Full of Dreams” was actually recorded, which is to say that this definitely will not go down as the most uplifting record of the year. That said, there is a near-perfect balance between the large, highly produced tracks that made Coldplay famous and the subtler pieces that allow listeners a break from the band's intense energy.

The first three tracks are a long drive of high energy songs.“Hymn for the Weekend,” which rounds out this spirited opening trio, features Beyonce (the album also features Tove Lo and Noel Gallagher later on) and starts as an unmistakably Coldplay-written song before taking a turn toward R&B for the chorus. “Oh, angels sent from up above,” sings Martin. “I feel it coursing through my blood / Life is a drink, your love’s about / To make the stars come out / Put your wings on me...” The song successfully lowers listeners from its highs through a denouement that brings the track full circle, making the transition to “Everglow,” the album’s first downbeat offering, a smooth one.

Where “A Head Full of Dreams” shifts gears is at “Kaleidoscope,” a patchwork of a 13th-century Persian poem, President Obama’s rendition of Amazing Grace and old west saloon piano music. The songs that follow these on the album are not the ones fans are going to scream for when the band strikes up at a concert; rather, they are the ones that fans will happily bob their heads and sway their bodies to the moment they start.

“Up&Up,” the album’s finale, has the airy, modern sound Coldplay is known for and a classic Coldplay piano riff, combined with an almost gospel-like stadium rock sound. Like “Hymn for the Weekend,” it builds to an energetic climax in the middle. The build up and come down from this peak are both smooth, and the final seconds of the track allow listeners to step off the Coldplay train gracefully and easily -- perhaps for the last time.