Coldplay - 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' (Parlophone)
5/5
By: Toby L
Anyone able to follow up a debut-album of as much charisma, immediacy and intelligent song-crafting skills as displayed on Coldplay's 'Parachutes' with something more challenging, enthralling and sublime than the original predecessor, justifiably deserves the status as one of the UK's biggest and finest acts.
With 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head', the foursome behind the previous classic-LP have created a quintessential, captivating and fully superior follow-up... And, really, after exerting such a force of inspiration and passion into two similarly stunning pieces of work, is it any shock that Chris Martin and co. may be choosing to sign off from the music-world following these triumphs?
Opening with 'Politik' - quite possibly a churning, engaging number that Radiohead let slip from their hands during recent recording-sessions - the record builds and builds before allowing itself to slumber into the comfortable, come-down confines of 'Amsterdam'. Along the way, too, it's quite a ride.
Particularly where the band's talents have improved or have become enhanced is via their willingness to expand on ideas to a larger, grandiose effect; so, whilst 'Don't Panic' on the first album will have plodded along merrily and eventually subsided into a casual ending, had it been written in the period prior to the production of 'A Rush Of Blood...', it's arguable that the ideas would have been expanded upon, allowed to veer off into obscure and wondrous avenues. Consequentially, fans of the act should expect things bigger from this record (as if the swarming beauty of recent top-3 single 'In My Place' wasn't evidence enough for proving such a theory).
Of meritorious note are such live-sounding numbers as 'God Put A Smile Upon Your Face', proof enough from the space-age guitars and elevating chorus that this is a group unafraid to challenge their abilities, forming the natural bridge between recent influences Echo & The Bunnymen and even aspects of Pulp's more vibrant offerings. 'Clocks', meanwhile, peculiarly opens as if it's set to become a Moby-standard, but soon houses Martin's unmistakable, desperate vocals, lavishly leading into the welcoming psychedelia of 'Daylight' and eventual suaveness of 'Warning Sign'. Topped off with the growling 'A Whisper' and enveloping chorus of the LP's title-track, it's safe to say that this is one of the few batches of songs that every music-fan should have at least heard once in 2002.
Elegant, intoxicating and overwhelmingly essential, despite the sadness that could be directed towards the uncertainty of the band's future, at least there is some solace to be found in the fact that these compositions will live on forever.
Artists in this article: Coldplay
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