Quelle Surprise - The New Coldplay Stuff Is Quite Good!

When Defamer Australia heard that Coldplay were giving away the first single from their new album away for nada, we were quick to assume it'd probably be rather rubbish. After all, their last album was coma-inducing (just ask Toni Collette), and whoever once pulled Chris Martin aside and informed him his falsetto was awesome and he should overuse it to a nauseating degree ought to be shot.

But guess what? Violet Hill is actually... dare I say it... surprisingly good! It took a couple of listens before I was convinced, and the bit where he sings "Clearly I remember..." made me immediately think of the lyric from Pearl Jam's Jeremy ("... picking on the boy") - something I blame on a recent car trip with my mother where we listened to Triple M for longer than I care to share right now - but eventually it grabbed me, especially the rather haunting refrain of "If you loved me, why'd you let me gooooo...".

Consider their last album's kick off single was Speed Of Sound, and you'll understand why this is a welcome return to some kind of form.

Hear it for yourself over at the band's MySpazz, if you haven't already been hit over the head with it.

But much,much better than Violet Hill is another track which is floating around from the new record, and it's called Viva La Vida.

I was hoping some wag on YouTube would have made a nice homemade clip for it already, but EMI has been pulling down tributes like Malcolm Fraser pulls down pants (erm, so they've done it at least once, as far as I can tell), so you'll have to make do with this gents' rendition of it.

Or maybe you'd prefer a cover group's efforts - they're known as the Coldplayers, for god's sake, so you know they're "enthusiastic" about the whole thing.

And there you have it. Coldplay, you've shocked me. I am pleasantly impressed and happy to admit it publicly - c'mon, no one likes a coolsie dickhead who is too proud to admit they like something which might be unfashionable in the eyes of some, right? Right?

Right.

Comments

acharis

Posted May 14, 2008 7:55 AM

People's expectations of X&Y were far too high, and the first single (I totally agree with you on 'speed of sound) was just a 'taste test' of the disappointment that was to follow.
However, Violet Hill is the opposite! I was expecting wanker-esque shite, and the 'taste test' for their new album has made the whole thing look a lot more promising.
Anyway, if it all goes tits-up, we can just say they were copyi...sorry, inspired by radiohead again.