Coldplay - Ghost Stories

(CD Album Review)

****

The new ghostly sound of Coldplay!

Coldplay new album has had some quite anticipation behind it, and is quite different to their previous releases. I have always liked the way that Coldplay have been able to re-invent themselves and give you something new on every album, while still keeping a flavour of their original sound. Opening track 'Always in my Head' starts off with a very nice atmospheric beat and melody before Chris Martin's vocals kicking in.

This song is very slow and haunting and I think is going to be a real grower on you as time goes past and is the perfect start to an album. I always love when an album starts off with a track like this. Second track magic is almost a cut down Pop song with beats behind it that are very Dancey and faint in the mix and like the first track leaving Chris Martin to make the track his own with the vocals. I am already quite enjoying the new style, which is far less Indie and more Pop and maybe shows a new direction for the band. Also the falsetto vocals in some parts are really nice and make a good atmosphere to the track.

In a way the backing has a slight 'Kid A' (Radiohead) feel to it, if it was more Pop and quite and this is shown on 'Ink.' which sounds like this crossed with some of the bands lighter material. I think 'Ghost Stories' is a great name for the album because it almost has a ghostly feel to it. This is shown very nicely on the track 'Ink.' and others on the album. 'True Love' almost verges on material off their album 'X and Y' but with the hint of this new ghostly feel added to it. I am not sure how commercial some of this material is but I really like it and I think it's a great direction for the band and 'True Love' is a lovely track to listen to.

'Midnight' is so atmospheric and sounds like Sigur Ros in places showing that Coldplay are really trying something new on the new album. This mid album interlude is great background music and would work really well on a film score and makes a great addition to 'Ghost Stories' as a whole package. 'Another's Arms' picks up the pace a little but is still really slow, the new material is very hard to talk about because it has so many depths and is a piece of conceptual art put into music and has really surprised me.'Oceans' is a little dreary and goes on a little too long, but I can see where they were trying to go with it. But I think this is the weakest track on the album and I will probably skip it when I am listening to the album in the future because it is just a little too monotonous.

On contrast next track 'A Sky full of Stars' is so different, it has a Eurodance kind of feel and is really up tempo. You couldn't have two more different tracks and I absolutely love this one. It's just a shame you have to go through 'Oceans' to get to it. I know how Gulliver feels know when he went discovering and the sea's were rough. I could see remixes getting played in clubs of 'A Sky full of Stars' or at the summer festivals. I think this song is going to be a big hit, it even has a feel of The Wanted in places a Pop band that I absolutely love.

The piano intro of 'Interlude (Fly On)' is mesmerising and leads into 'O' so nicely. This breath taking piece of music shows Coldplay at their best and that they can still write beautiful music that we all want to hear. 'O' goes by in a blink of an eye and is a very short track that is backed up nicely by the very cleverly written 'All your Friends' which is one of the best tracks on the album. It has so many interesting nice parts that you would have to listen to a million times to hear every one. Song writing at it's best from the Brit Award winning band. Kind of title track 'Ghost Story' is almost a Folk acoustic number that ends the album of nicely with the slight interlude after it. This is a story telling song that is just nice to listen to.

This is not a lively album like others by Coldplay but it is really well written and atmospheric and worth a purchase to put on in your home and shill to 'A Sky full of Stars' is the best track on it by far and is sure to be a hit. I would say this is for Coldplay fans, but it's not going to win any commercial appeal but maybe some people will take them a little more serious and they might get some acclaim for it because it's a very interesting album.

Review by Dan Devour