Wednesday 26 February 2014

Coldplay - Midnight


Oh Coldplay. The band we all love to hate.

And with the sudden release of Midnight, there’s plenty more fuel to add to the fire.  With each album, the band have progressively become more electronic, reaching an apex with ‘Mylo Xyloto’.  It’s a development that has divided opinions from both fans and critics.

Yet that’s nothing compared to Midnight, in which the band have gone full-on electronica.  It’s soft and subdued, gloomy yet glittering and works quite wonderfully as a piece of ambience.  Over time, it slowly expands with a gently pulsing beat and rave keyboards to become, in its latter half, more of an atmospheric, dreamy dance track that's complimented by the eerie black and white video.

It’s Chris Martin’s vocoded vocals that prove most controversial however.  The robotic distortion blurs his voice with the murky textures that spin around the production, yet it renders the lyrics incoherent.  In Chris Martin’s case this is perhaps a good thing, but it also means there’s a distinct lack of emotional connection with the lyrics beyond mumbling and murmuring.

Still, you can’t knock the band for their bravery, the result being one of their better tracks in recent years that’s oddly beautiful.  Just forget about the fact it’s Coldplay.

3/5

Listen: The band have released no other plans for music this year - perhaps a new, secret album is on the cards?