A Rush of Blood to the Head

Simply Superb
by: bill aicher

The debut album from Coldplay marked a change in direction for modern UK rock music. The days of the straight-rocking brit-pop of bands like Blur and Oasis had come to a close and most of the musical world had their eyes set on Radiohead. Still, Radiohead had laid dormant for the few years post-Ok Computer and pre-Kid A. What was needed was something to fill the void of emotive rock music, a void which held some occupation by newcomers Travis.

What the debut of Parachutes did however, was to propel Coldplay directly into the limelight as the next big band to watch for out of our sister country across the sea. Sure, the Radiohead comparisons were valid, but there was still something different about the band and its simplistic approach to making beautiful, moving, introspective rock.

Now, two years later, the band finds itself at a crossroads: the second album which could break the band as nothing more than just a "one-hit wonder" for "Yellow" or as something more - something a few have referred to as "the next U2."

What A Rush of Blood to the Head delivers is an unbelievably solid growth upon the already amazing work of their debut. Songs like the opening "Politik" and the driving "Clocks" show a matured band with a much matured sound. While staying true to the simplicity imbued in their playing style, the songs adhere to a newfound complexity in composition.

Still, with songs like the soft political commentary "A Rush of Blood to the Head" and the un-fricken-believable piano / guitar ballad "The Scientist" portray a sentimentality and emotionality of truth found only in those rare Buckley-esque confessions of the heart. Chris Martin's lyrics are greatly improved (a feat once thought impossible) as well, still mostly covering the myriad of heartelft emotions, it's just that with Martin it's obvious he's really feeling them. Take a few listens to "The Scientist" and tell me that each time he isn't tearing his heart out once and again.

This being said, A Rush of Blood is amazing - really. Go buy it now. Buy it even if you didn't like the last one. Trust us, it's this frickin good.

We've always said The Flaming Lips are going to save the world someday, but we'd be fine if it ended up being Coldplay instead. And with this new disc, there's a damn good chance it could be.
29-Aug-2002 10:44 PM