When I Need a Friend: I'm fucking losing my mind. The only downside to this number is how it brings the degrees of separation between Kuti and the Chainsmokers down to one. Gimmick-be-damned, "Arabesque" is a poorly-named heavy hitter of a song, the centerpiece of "Everyday Life", and blessed with thick-ass electric piano, horns galore, and Martin successfully writing the "we're all one" message Bono hasn't been able to string together in years. The Kuti family is playing on a Coldplay track and it's not a fucking gimmick. It doesn't get any less weird.Īrabesque: It's been a few weeks, so we're used to it Kuti family is playing on a Coldplay track. This is, again, right out of the U2 playbook (everyone knows the best version of "I Still Haven't Found." is the gospel-choir infused cut on Rattle and Hum), but still.that our British boys refrained from breaking into a reverb-addled gospel-hybrid-thing is commendable. Let's break down the "Coldplay-not-doing-Coldplay-shit" just for kicks:īroken (I refuse to capitalize the E, sorry Chris): Straight vocal gospel. No, this record is bizarre, and what's damn bizarre about this record is the borderline-abrasive genre hopping. Frankly, I don't see much use in delving in to the more traditional highlights: what's to be gained from reminding you that Coldplay is really fucking good at being.Coldplay?Įxcept that's not really all that happened. Chris Martin, despite his desire to front a neo-disco outfit, has not lost his superhuman touch with the sentimental: "Orphans", "Old Friends", and "Champion of the World" all pluck heartstrings with greater force than any of the next-best Coldplay tracks of the 2010s (Charlie Brown, Always in My Head.Magic?). have finally chosen to (belatedly) acknowledge that their strength lies in tender balladry and chorus-driven anthems.
Everyday Life is not pushing pop-rock-anthem boundaries another band hasn't pushed (and pushed more successfully) before: U2 has been doing this shit since "All that You Can't Leave Behind." That said, after a decade of half-hearted attempts at more straightforward pop, it seems that Martin and co. "Ghost Stories" had actually landed pretty nicely on my ears just a few years prior and all, so.why not give it a go? "Experimental" was a claim I was never going to buy: we all knew what this "double album" was going to be before launching in. You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page! Everyday Life collectionĮarlier this week I was blessed with an absolutely crippling case of insomnia and, in my dazed, "can't fucking believe I'm awake at 6am" state, I figured I'd give that darned new Coldplay record a shot. Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. Latest 20 charts that this album appears in: Sort ranks