COLDPLAY - "VIOLET HILL"

Whoa...are those distortion pedals and heavy beats I hear??! Coldplay's new single, "Violet Hill" is the first off of the upcoming 4th record 'Viva La Vida', which arrives on 17th June. My instant reaction is that for the first time, Coldplay is playing with a good bit of gumption.
Let's recap quickly: 'Parachutes' was a fine record, and played an integral role in the public's acceptance of the more delicate side of rock, and (thankfully) helped usher out the age of the Limp Bizkits of the world.
'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' was another batch of fine songs along those same lines, but by 2005's 'X&Y', the whole thing had gotten tired and boring.

Now we have this new tune. The beats have some meat to them, and the voice of Chris Martin is well served with the processing that is applied to it (Because let's face it, the guy's voice is nice, but has practically no range. The vocal effects here beef it up well).

To my ears, this song immediately harkens back to the mid-90's Britpop era of classic Oasis, or the beat-driven sound of The Charlatans during the middle of that band's career. These are groups that the members of Coldplay surely grew up listening to, and whose sounds they are now seemingly incorporating.

Also, this new Coldplay record was produced by the legendary Brian Eno, so that says a lot. Eno is best known for his time in Roxy Music and as the father of ambient music, but in more recent years as a top-notch producer. Trust me, you HAVE heard his production work, whether on 'Remain In Light' by Talking Heads, or on the David Bowie albums 'Low', 'Heroes', and 'Lodger', or most certainly on U2's 'The Joshua Tree'.

For at least the next few days, you can get a free download of "Violet Hill" from Coldplay's website. I just did it, and it takes just a few seconds.

cheers,
pogo