This is a mixed bag containing some cool new sounds for Coldplay as well as some incredibly cheesy moments. Producer Brian Eno added just enough roughness to keep Viva from cruising into Westlife territory.
The twin power of ‘Lost!’ and ‘Lost?’ are the highlights for me. ‘Lost!’ features a grinding organ right out of a Velvet Underground session and dark, chant-like vocals. Album closer ‘Lost?’ on the other hand picks up the theme in a solo piano version which lets Coldplay’s Chris Martin come over as icy cool as Lou Reed in his salad days.
Runner up is ‘Yes’ with its moody swagger which has more than a hint of Iggy Pop to it.
Other Eno touches here are the glass-like guitars on opener ‘Life In Technicolour’ and ‘Death And His Friends’, all frosty, brittle and dangerous. A metallic, snarling drum machine saves ‘Lovers In Japan’ from sinking into jangly pap. Another Eno intervention, I’d say.
The rest of the album contains the typical Coldplay fare: Jangly guitars and big, big choruses.
Beware the lowpoints like ‘Violet Hill’, which sounds like an outtake Oasis would have burned in the ashtray, or the syrupy ballads ‘42′ and ‘Strawberry Hill’. No joke, the piano and strings ballad ’42′ could hide easily on an album by the Men on Stools, better known as Westlife.
The title track ‘Viva La Vida’ aims for a stadium anthem, but the bombastic strings and ‘I-know-what-comes-next’ chorus ruin it for me.
Two years in the making, this is a very mixed bag of an album and you may end settling down for a only handful of tracks fit for repeated listening. Shame then that ‘Yes’ is only available as a download if you buy the whole album.
Listen to tracks from Coldplays ‘Viva La Vida’ and donload the album from iTunes.
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