 On a (long) path of discoveries, Coldplay (still) tries to find itself. COLDPLAY - X&Y (2005) Released on June 6, 2005, Coldplay's third studio album, X&Y, featuring artwork with colors and blocks representing the Baudot code, incorporated influences from other musical styles (such as electronic) during its creation. During this period, Chris Martin intentionally stayed out of the spotlight to create something new following the success of their previous album, A Rush of Blood to the Head, in 2002. Produced by Danton Supple and Coldplay, the album contains twelve tracks (plus a hidden additional track), with over an hour of runtime. It can be a long and even tiring experience if listened to in its entirety, but when absorbed as a whole, it is a rewarding journey full of memorable moments. It does not surpass its predecessor but forges new paths for the band to explore. "Square One" is the prelude: with its inviting introduction before the drums set the pace, the group reveals their intentions lyrically, although the instrumentation drags a bit. "It doesn't matter who you are... you just want someone listening to what you say...," says Martin, before a pleasant atmosphere takes over the song at the end, and the protagonist reflects on his moment: "You wonder if your chance will ever come or if you're back to square one...," he concludes in his introspection, allowing the most intimate moment to arrive with "What If," a beautiful yet melancholic song, with deep roots in past pain eviscerating the lost heart. With verses accompanied by firm piano chords, Martin continues his lament in search of good memories to ease the merciless force of time. The verses become fuller with the addition of bass filling the gaps, until a brief guitar sound takes the protagonist to the highest point where he seems to find harmony in his return to golden times.
In "White Shadows," a direct continuation of "Square One," but with a more pleasant rhythm and an interesting intersection in its process of emerging from the cocoon. Although longer than necessary, the instrumentation gives way to the solitary synthesizer, which guides Martin to the cracks in the shell where light comes through, allowing him to finally break free: "See it in a new sunrise and see it coming up on your horizon... come on love, stay with me...," he says, reborn, ready to start the album's best song: "Fix You," a very well-polished diamond, shining throughout its execution (check the video above), probably the most poetic moment ever recorded by the band in their career, both in melody and lyrics, without forgetting the majestic climb to its firm return in the deep verse: "Lights will guide you home and ignite your bones... and I will try to fix you...," he recites, making every second count. Inspired by electronic music, "Talk" emerges with a touch from the German band Kraftwerk with an introduction that repeats continuously while the band tries to find themselves in their process of discovery. It is a learning song, without much depth, like a traveler who has just arrived in unknown lands with an unfamiliar language and exotic customs. It takes time to get used to... or continue the journey. In "X&Y," the album's title track, Martin recites his verses without waiting for anyone, taking the lead: "I want to love you but I don't know if I can...," he laments, while the soft chorus "Ooh ooh ooh..." plays, as if discovering a new feeling and being ecstatic, believing he is sailing in calm waters while waves emerge from the horizon to pull him out of the blind knot of passion. The instruments do not exalt themselves, maintaining their line throughout the journey. And then with hammering notes, "Speed of Sound" emerges with the feel of a single and destined for the stage, but strangely produced in the studio, seeming to waste great potential. Its musical structure is striking, as is the vocal rise in the chorus: "And all that noise and all that sound... all those places I have found...," but its final version got lost in the speed of sound, deserving at least an alternative or acoustic version as a reward. With more romance, the band enters "A Message" with a soft atmosphere, with a sound voice accompanied by the guitar in notable verses: "You don't have to be on your own...," says Martin, before the group gathers, side by side, in an intimate performance, with the vocals rising as the instruments fill out, with the crucial aim of delivering a message of love to those who deserve to hear it. An affectionate song. "Low," ahead, is the musical continuation of "Square One" and "White Shadows," but without the intersection at the end or the need to appear on the setlist, contrasting the vision of a world seen in black and white, emphasizing that to find love, you need to look for it, before the guitar gains prominence while Martin insists on saying how low he feels, contrasting with the high solo, unlike "The Hardest Part," whose mission is to bring harmony to the listener from its introduction reminiscent of The Cure to its final revelation in the middle of a house party, with the unwelcoming line: "All that I know is wrong... and all that I do, it just comes undone... and everything is torn apart...," softened by the instrumentation that doesn't lose hope of marching forward. Then Martin begins to recite his verses in "Swallowed in the Sea" in a rising manner without interruption, climbing and climbing until he can't anymore, as if seeking air after a deep dive, accompanied by the well-inspired band. A well-crafted song that could serve as an introduction to the album, with its thrilling progression that captivates and makes one sigh at each climb until reaching a calm and serene plateau. "Twisted Logic" soon enters the scene and leaves its mark: it is the most enigmatic song on the album. Its sound resembles an alternative rock band testing a new sound inspired by The Verve, while trying to poetize the distorted logic of the world with its experimental sound in an endless back and forth: "You go backwards but then you go forwards again...," Martin repeats until its succinct end, which then enters into a deep silence until the guitar of the hidden track "Til Kingdom Come" appears out of nowhere, uninvited, trying to conclude an already concluded story. Its addition, however, works as a tribute, an epilogue: with its guitar strings being dragged by fingers, the song (originally intended by Martin for Johnny Cash to sing before he passed away) the protagonist recites his verses while being accompanied only by the harmonica, with no apparent direction, making one last appeal: "Just say you'll wait for me...," as he continues on his way. ★★★½ (out of 5 stars) Coldplay Reviews: Parachutes (2000), A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), X&Y (2005), Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), Mylo Xyloto (2011), Ghost Stories (2014), A Head Full of Dreams (2015), Kaleidoscope EP (2017), Everyday Life (2019), Music of the Spheres (2021), and Moon Music (2024). |
