It has been nearly three years since we last heard from Coldplay. Aside from a short tour in early 2007, the United Kingom-based band has stayed out of the public eye, choosing instead to devote its attention to creating the follow-up to 2005's X&Y. Yet despite the acclaim and success of the band's previous three albums, Coldplay believed it was time for both a change in style and sound.
"We felt like the first three albums were a trilogy, and we finished that," guitarist Johnny Buckland recently told Rolling Stone. "So we wanted to do something different."
The result is Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends. Due out on June 17 as a Capital Records label, the 10-track album will be a reflection of Coldplay's new experimental style. Under the production of Brian Eno, widely known for his work on U2's The Joshua Tree, and Markus Dravs, who worked on Arcade Fire's Neon Bible, the album will exhibit a "distorted and rougher sound" and dark, ominous lyrics. This is a somewhat ironic change for a band that was crowned by a recent survey as the top band that "help Britons get off to sleep."
It's impossible to please everybody, and it took us a while to learn that," front-man Chris Martin told Rolling Stone. "It's just the freedom to say, 'Everyone might not like this. We're into it at the moment, so let's just get it done.'"
The album's somewhat oxymoronic title is a reflection of this new attitude, named in honor of legendary painter Frida Kahlo.
"She went through a lot of s**t, of course, and then she started a big painting in her house that said 'Viva la Vida,'" Martin explained to the magazine in another article. "I just loved the boldness of it."
Of the album's 10 tracks, a song entitled "42" is widely rumored to be the album's first hit single. Reportedly featuring the likes of orchestral and piano loops and a theme of death and loneliness, the song is a perfect example of the band's aforementioned experimentation. Other tracks appearing on Viva La Vida include, "Strawberry Swing," an Afro-pop, base-heavy cut and the particularly distorted "Violet Hill."
While the band is expected to eventually announce a world tour in support of the upcoming release, as of press time, Coldplay currently only has three scheduled dates, which include a headlining spot at the inaugural Pemberton Music Festival in Pemberton, British Columbia.
2008 Woodie Awards
Be the first to comment on this story