Coldplay
A Rush of Blood to the Head
Capitol Records
SINCERITY ISN'T DEAD. But pop music may have finally been laid to rest.
Coldplay's second album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, signifies so much more than mere evidence that the British quartet is for real. In one 11-song work of art, Coldplay reaffirms that good rock music can still inspire change; they show how simple composition can be as mesmerizing as the most complex arrangement; and they prove that heartfelt music can be as commercially successful as any teen-aged brat's belly button.
While Coldplay's debut, the multi-platinum, Grammy-winning Parachutes, grabbed listeners with vivid dreamscapes and Chris Martin's poignant lyrics, A Rush of Blood to the Head succeeds on much more hidden terms.
Coldplay creates the same barren setting as U2 used on 1987's The Joshua Tree to remind us just how tiny we truly are in the whole scheme of things. Using Jonny Buckland's haunting guitar playing and Martin's impassioned vocals, Rush convinces us that, as insignificant as we are, there's no sense in wasting what time we have together.
"Look at Earth from outer space/Everyone must find their place/Give me time and give me space/Give me real, don't give me fake," Martin croons on the album's opening track, "Politik," just one of many songs that relies on a very simple, yet confident melody.
"The Scientist," the album's best track, bleeds honesty, telling the story of a man who must overcome his own analytical approach to a relationship and come to terms with the fact that love is not a math equation.
And on "Green Eyes," essentially an alt-country ballad, Martin sings, "I came here with a load/And it feels so much lighter since I met you," turning what would be nothing more than a one-line shtick by any other singer into a genuine profession of devotion and loyalty.
If there is one fault of Rush, as has been the major criticism of Coldplay, the work they have put forth is almost too simple and not very inventive, unlike the band they've been so often mistakenly compared to in the past, Radiohead.
Coldplay, though, have the upper hand on that argument. A Rush of Blood to the Head is but the band's second album. And already it has produced a catalog of some of the best music heard since this whole pop craze erupted.
Surely, Coldplay will have plenty of time to tinker with technology and more complex composition. In the meantime, we should all happily settle for substance over style.
Reach the reporter at josef.watson@asu.edu.
