About two years ago, Coldplay released "Parachutes," the perfect, post-breakup album. The calm yet dejected tone of the music of the mopey British four-piece band was the perfect sedative for stressed, jilted and loveless young adults.
Although Coldplay had higher standards and refused to license any of their music, it's still not hard to foresee a song like "Trouble" serving as the soundtrack for the scene in a Cameron Crowe movie where one of characters is driving alone, dumped and depressed in the rain.
The question now is whether Coldplay still has something to be unhappy about now that "Parachutes" has gone multi-platinum, mostly due to the strength of their hit single, "Yellow."
On their latest album, "A Rush of Blood to the Head," Coldplay still has reasons to be down in the dumps. But they're not willing to let the gloom last.
For instance, the new album has more upbeat tunes in the vein of "Yellow." Or as one office colleague put it, "I'm glad they use a real drum this time." Stand out tracks like "Clocks" and "In My Place," are more suited for the auspicious days when the dumped lover comes crawling back begging for forgiveness. Lead singer Chris Martin has the perfect voice of a reject when he sings on the latter song, "If you go/ If you go/ And leave me down here on my own/ Then I'll wait for you."
But in some ways, Coldplay has decided to make a political statement out of being moody. "Politik," their opening track, is concerned with the unfair power that trade laws have over Third World nations, a point the band makes abundantly clear in their liner notes. It's not exactly a song that's going to inspire left-wing fanatics to throw park benches through the windows of Starbucks, but Coldplay's music is not about inciting a riot.
What Coldplay fans want to know is whether "A Rush of Blood." serves the same soothing purpose as "Parachutes." The more up-tempo tracks certainly do not get in the way of the band's characteristically large repertoire of slow, meandering works. Piano ballads like "The Scientist," and "Amsterdam," have the proper mournful tone for the bad days. Other disconsolate numbers like "A Rush of Blood to the Head" are best left at the discretion of the listener's current state of mind.
