The Cold Cut

Coldplay- Death Will Never Conquer (Link 2)

I would love to be Brian Eno. Not for the reputation, nor the money, but purely so I could take a listen to all the off-cuts from Coldplay's latest album, 'Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends' at my own pleasure.

The first of many b-sides and free releases came a few days ago in the form of 'Death Will Never Conquer'. A short track, just over 1 minute long, it's back to basics- just Chris and a piano. Or, live, Will Champion (drummer for Coldplay) and a piano. And here's where it gets interesting- Will has a good voice. An amazing voice, in fact. He might not have Chris quaking in his boots, but I absolutely love it when a band unveils a whole new dimension to their sound. Thing of the possibilities! Harmonies? They've done that. An album sung entirely by Will? Perhaps thats the plan for album number 4?

The song itself isn't exhilarating, but what it represents is. Now if only someone can release the vocal version of 'Life In Technicolour', my life will be complete.

Would you like a deluxe edition of Viva La Vida, including every track they recorded?

So, as we all knew it would, Coldplay's new album has been leaked. And it's ace. In my honest opinion, this is their best album to date, but a comprehensive review will have to wait.

I can sum it up in a few sentences: the backing is heavier in the mix, the instrumentals are lush (the only word in my vocabulary that fits). Oh, and this album has Brian Eno written all over it, in a very good way. Recently, I've started to see why Coldplay have numerous detractors, as their recent output had started to veer towards being formulaic. This album, therefore, will set things straight. The talent is all there, and every song on this album is a departure from their previous sound.

Anyway, I'm not going to post any tracks that aren't widely available elsewhere: however, since Coldplay mania is in full swing, enjoy these two new tracks (I'm not the first to post them), both high quality. Oh, and just to tease you, they're not the best tracks on the album. Not by a long way.

Coldplay- 42 (Link 2) (Link 3)
Coldplay- Yes (Link 2) (Link 3)

Viva La Vida can be pre-ordered here, or on iTunes.

Coldplay- Violet Hill (Link 2) (Link 3)

My initial reaction to this song was a resounding 'hmmm'. My fears weren't entirely misplaced. Coldplay haven't stepped too far astray, but 'Violet Hill' isn't quite good enough to justify a 3 year absence. The band, however, have not lost their radio friendly roots. My brother found himself humming the tune a mere 5 minutes after listening to the song.

Many people have drawn Oasis comparisons, mostly due to the vocals and newly beefed up backing section. Piano, however, runs the show- kicking in 40 seconds in (after a resounding drone), the keys power this song through to its finish. The lyrics are weak: 'I wanna be a soldier who a captain on some sinking ship would stow far below. If you love me, won’t you let me know?', but all in all, 'Violet Hill' is a nice introduction to the new album.

Even though I'm slightly dissapointed, I'm happy to have them back. However, with this (and the shoddy album cover), Coldplay have become a little less untouchable.
The song is available free for one week only: head over to the band's slightly pretentious website to download it.

'Viva La Vida' has been brought forward and will now be released on June 12!

Earlier today, Coldplay pulled back the curtains on the artwork for their forthcoming album, entitled 'Viva La Vida'- or 'Death And All His Friends'. The band use a painting by French Romantic painter Eugène Delacroix from 1830 called ‘Liberty Leading The People’. And to be honest, it's fairly shit. Not only does it not fit the album title, but it really isn't Coldplay.

The first single from 'Viva La Vida'- 'Violet Hill'- will have its first radio play tomorrow evening. Following this play, it will then be available for download (free!) from the band's website.

Chris Martin has proclaimed this album as a departure. This really worries me- what was wrong with the old Coldplay?

Coldplay- God Put A Smile Upon Your Face (Link 2)

Kanye West's post-'Graduation' campaign is going well. Three great singles, some nice live performances, four Grammys, and now two good videos to his name (unfortunately, 'Stronger' wasn't up to scratch). That's right, the third single has been announced- 'Homecoming', featuring Chris Martin.

The video has some nice touches (that outline idea is pretty well executed), and the video fits the jaunty piano and weird dancing, from featuring artist Chris Martin. I guess that's one thing you can expect from a man who named his daughter 'apple'.

Some treats for you- as well as 'Homecoming', an inventive Diplo remix of what was the last single- 'Flashing Lights'.

Kanye West- Homecoming (Link 2) (Link 3)
Kanye West- Flashing Lights (Diplo Remix) (Link 2) (Link 3)

I'm not exactly sure of the reason behind it, but lately loads of rappers and hip hop artists have been reigning in singer-songwriters to guest on their record: the latest to join their ranks is Kanye West, who has roped in Chris Martin of Coldplay to sing on Homecoming, one of the leaked tracks off Graduation, out 10th September. As much as I love Kanye and Coldplay, this song is a dud from start to finish- there's nothing distinguishing about it- and I found myself slightly bored about a minute in, something which rarely happens without reason. It's a bit of an anti-climax to release/leak this after the brilliance of Stronger (my favourite hip-hop track this year, hands down)...

Another worrying thing I've noticed about Kanye is he can't seem to sustain a record by himself anymore- at least 5 or 6 tracks on each of his albums have the dreaded featuring stamp. Keep this up Kanye, and you could find yourself becoming the new Timbaland: On his new album Shock Value, Timba is only on his own for one of the 19 tracks... I appreciate that having a variety of different artists looks great from a business perspective, but sometimes, we (the paying customers) just want to hear the artist by themselves rather than with a plethora of random "hip-hop legends/singers".

Well, that's the rant over- Homecoming is included at the bottom of this post, and now I'm going to go and give it a few more listens before I decide is total rubbish. Just to put my conscience at rest, what do you guys/girls think? Am I right/wrong? Please let me know... This hasn't deflated my expectations for Graduation- I still think it's going to be a great album, only worse than it could have been... Follow the link below to download the track:

Kanye West ft. Chris Martin- Homecoming

Graduation can be pre-ordered here