When Coldplay’s Chris Martin made the statement that A Head Full of Dreams would be their last album upon its release in 2015, most likely only a few believed him. Obviously, the hardworking English band simply needed a momentary rest from their grueling touring schedule. But stopping from making new music, when the members are definitely still in their prime and are quite stylistically proficient, seems unbelievable and impractical. So, the newly released Everyday Life should have not come as a surprise to everyone. That in mind, the four-year period was worth the wait, for Coldplay’s latest oeuvre is a double album at that!
Out on Friday, November 22nd, 2019, via Parlophone Records, Everyday Life marks their eighth overall studio album. Broken in two parts, Part One opens with the short Baroque Pop instrumental “Sunrise”—an apt introductory to the alluring swagger of the Enigma-tic Dance Pop track “Church.” Martin’s blue-silk voice is unmistakably the band’s beloved trademark.
Following next is the rustic, tiptoeing and undulating piano-led mid-tempo “Trouble in Town,” whose pulsating beat has the power to sway even the coldest of hearts and busiest of minds. Afterwards, Martin and his comrades—Guy Berryman (bass, backing vocals, keyboards, mandolin, harmonica), Jonny Buckland (lead guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, piano), and Will Champion (drums, percussion, backing vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards)—treat their listener to the Gospel Blues of “BrokEn.”
A heartrending and tear-jerking slow, piano-oriented ballad plays next in the form of “Daddy”—surely a future classic that deserves several repeats on one’s player. A change of mood and style, “Wonder of the World / Power of the People” takes the listener to a quiet Tropical place, with its playful and tuneful acoustic guitar–voice minimalist predisposition. Still in the mood for something summery and watery, Coldplay then delivers the horn-adorned “Arabesque” with confident, holiday-in-the-sun intensity. The sunrise part of Everyday Life ends dramatically and somberly with “When I Need a Friend,” which could pass as a church song.
After another short instrumental, titled “Sunset,” Part Two of the album then opens properly with the frenetic acoustic guitar–strum-heavy “Guns.” Martin turns terpsichorean again with the dance-floor-ready tune “Orphans”—the other single culled from Everyday Life. The ensuing “Èkó” is quite a standout with its breezy, slightly syncopated, Classical sensibilities.
Featuring backing falsetto by the young and rising English singer Jacob Collier, “Cry Cry Cry” is a throwback to the slick Soul/Blues Pop of the 1950s. Another cryptic and old-soul track comes next—the Classical guitar–accompanied “Old Friends.”
Titled “بنی آدم,” which may translate to “Children of Adam” or “Human Beings,” it is another instrumental, which features the voice of Dr. Shahrzad Sami reciting Iranian poet Saadi’s poem “Bani Adam” in Persian. The flowing rhythm and melody then segues flawlessly into the engaging beat of “Champion of the World,” which may be regarded as the album’s shining moment because of its full, textured sound and melodic characteristics.
Finally, Martin and the rest of Coldplay, which includes Creative Director Phil Harvey, considered by the band as their fifth member, wrap up their masterpiece with the title-track, returning the listener to the heartland of Coldplay’s sound—back to the so-described Limestone Rock and Blue Wave sound of 2000’s Parachutes.
Over the years, Coldplay has earned both stout supporters and deadly detractors, but no one can really underestimate the hard work and the beautiful music that Martin, Berryman, Buckland, and Champion have begun to weave together more than two decades ago. With their latest offering, they are certainly not yet ready to stop doing what they do best. That is why Cryptic Rock gives Everyday Life 5 out of 5 stars.
Purchase Everyday Life:
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