Juxtapose Britain’s “NME ” magazine with any hip American music mag, and you’re certain to find a dichotomy that perplexes the average American music fan.
For the most part, “NME” is a hub for aspiring internationalites that use the magazine’s autocratic assertions as a guide for how to be avant-garde. American magazines can be just as bad, but, for the most part, they refrain from the regional angst that can be found in the iconic British mag.
They’re still upset that we don’t like Travis.
Coldplay has been the latest act to receive the warm admiration of the important international forum for British music. The group’s latest, A Rush of Blood To The Head, is a reason in and of itself to pay more attention to our neighbors across the Atlantic. The album is a dazzling articulation of life, emotions and everyone’s race against time.
A Rush of Blood To The Head is one of those albums that almost freezes time, and that may have been the goal. Lead singer Chris Martin is intertwined in a world of confidence and self-doubt. He claims he fears nothing, but with a record this good, something must have scared the hell out of him.
“This record’s about how you must do things now, because time is short. Whether it’s falling in love or stopping evil global corporations, you’ve got to do it now, not put it off,” explained Coldplay’s leader.
Martin’s frantic fight against time has resulted in a much more complex, enjoyable album than Coldplay’s debut Parachutes, which featured the hit “Yellow.” The aforementioned hit doesn’t hold the same kind of gravity as any of the 11 gems on Coldplay’s latest.
Beneath the beauty of A Rush of Blood To The Head lies a silence, a sense of minimalism that separates Coldplay from the sometimes artistically cluttered music of Radiohead, a band to which Coldplay has been compared.
It’s like the album has captured the descent of a perfect snowflake, and you’re coming along for the ride down to earth.
“A Whisper” is the one track on the album that bites from the Radiohead catalogue. More accessible than the Radiohead of years past, “A Whisper” even has hints of U2’s legendary delayed guitars.
Coldplay’s attitude has changed a lot since the group’s debut. A tour of radio festivals during the Parachutes era resulted in lacerations from a storm of bottles and CDs that were thrown at the band by n?-metal cronies who lacked the ability to understand anything other than pickup trucks and beer.
“It was weird playing in a football stadium with Linkin Park, Blink 18 and Limp Bizkit; [we were] completely out of place, but doing very well. It was like, ‘Hang on, let’s do it.'” Martin remembered.
That sense of solidarity led to the new single, “In My Place,” which is a sonic evaluation and understanding of Martin and the rest of Coldplay’s place in the world. Simple drums and the most minimal of guitar licks stand opposite a deep bass groove and Martin’s vocals, which come across as a less annoying version of Dave Matthews.
“God Put A Smile Upon Your Face” doesn’t have the same snap of U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind, but will no doubt challenge the lads from Ireland when it comes to winning over the hearts of British fans. The optimistic tone of the up-tempo chorus contrasts the influence of Johnny Cash in the earlier verses of the notable track.
“Warning Sign” is the entirety of A Rush of Blood To The Head encapsulated in a graceful track that is at the heart and soul of this album. Acoustic and wobbly guitars lead into a beautiful piano interlude that shuts out the noise of the world in and of itself.
Singing, “A warning sign / I missed the good part/ then I realized / I started looking and the bubble burst / I started looking for excuses,” Martin articulates a point that is at the core of A Rush of Blood To The Head: Make no excuses, and don’t wait around for life to happen, because it’s right in front of you.
