Although they just released an album last year, Coldplay is at it again with a new release: A Head Full of Dreams. The British rock group is well-known among music lovers since their 1999 debut album Parachutes and subsequent hits in the 15 years since such as “The Scientist,” “Fix You” and “Viva La Vida.”
Many devoted fans were quick to purchase the album with high hopes of finding their new favorite Coldplay song, but I’m afraid their quest was most likely met with disappointment.
Undeniably, this is Coldplay’s first album with heavy pop influences, turning many fans off and giving critics a field day.
The sound of this album seems recycled and overused with no unique offerings. Early fans are used to an entirely different sound and slower, more melancholy tunes, especially fans of Coldplay’s previous album Ghost Stories. Their newest album is far from that. With a multitude of “oohs” and “woo-hoos” laced with higher pitched electronic sounds, this album lacks depth. Listeners can’t even find refuge in well-worded lyrics, as there are little to none.
The only redeeming tracks are “Everglow” and “Amazing Day.” “Everglow” is a love song that makes its way onto the album with collaboration from lead vocalist Chris Martin’s ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow. If listeners obtain anything of emotional value from this album, it’s going to be from this song and this song alone. “Amazing Day” is an ode to their previous album with the type of sound that would be found on Ghost Stories paired with heart wrenching lyrics that will nostalgically remind listeners of a lost love.
The group performed “Adventure of a Lifetime” at the 2015 American Music Awards, delighting fans and viewers. However, after listening to it on the album, I don’t find much to enjoy in this tune. The superficiality of this song is fine for a late-night drive with friends during the summer, but doesn’t offer much otherwise.
In an interview with BBC Radio 1, Coldplay paralleled its seventh album to the Harry Potter series, suggesting that if ending after seven pieces of work was good enough for Harry Potter, it was good enough for them. Furthermore, Martin has hinted that A Head Full of Dreams will be the group’s last album. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Martin stated, “It’s a bit like a finale, or a final scene.”
If that is the case, I fear that Coldplay has missed the mark and will be ending their career on a sour note.
To quote Coldplay themselves, “Oh, they say people come; they say people go.” Perhaps it’s time for Coldplay to make their exit.
For more album reviews, click here.
Follow Brinley Hineman on Twitter at @_Briiindle.
Follow us at www.mtsusidelines.com, on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on Twitter/Instagram at @Sidelines_Life.
To contact Lifestyles editor Tanner Dedmon, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com
