Coldplay - 'Clocks' (Parlophone)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
What exactly are Coldplay? Are they celebrities, political spokesmen, the most sought after bachelors in all of Hollywood? Actually, hang on; didn't they used to make some rather good music once? They did, and although they've recently been making the news for other reasons so much that you'd be forgiven for thinking Coldplay were actually a band at all, you'll be pleased to hear they still do.
As with all their best songs, 'Clocks' isn't even that complicated. Neither were 'Yellow', 'In My Place', 'The Scientist' - the list goes on, but this little number could hold its own against any of them. It is once more, essentially, just the one riff holding the song together. If you've been awake over the past year, you'll most likely have heard it by now, too. It's not even that exciting a riff, come to mention it. What is it that stops this all from becoming even the slightest bit tiresome?
The answer is pretty straightforward. For some unfathomable reason, the sound of Chris Martin's incessant hammering of his piano is some haunting stuff, the simplicity and obviousness of it paling into insignificance due to the presence of the one mystifying gift Coldplay laud over all other bands today - they just frankly write fabulous, classic songs.
Yes, it's pretty near faultless once again. In fact, the only problem you could have with 'Clocks' is that it's been used to soundtrack BBC advertisements so much that you think 'Match of the Day' is on every time it starts. But forget the adverts and the a-list girlfriends - Coldplay do indeed still write music. Let's never disregard how marvellous it is.
Artists in this article: Coldplay
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