ALBUM REVIEW: Coldplay- A Rush of Blood To The Head (2002)

 I want to start this off by saying that I do realize the implications of writing about Coldplay in the year 2015. While most everything has been said about them, running the gamut from claiming them as the best band in the world, to the absolute worst in the world, my allegiances stand firmly somewhere in the middle. Well, if not the middle, I at least like to take a much more considered view of their music, the nuances within the records they've made, and the reasons for their rapid ascent. There's something about this band that resonates. Love them or hate them, you can't knock 'em for trying to present a re-vamped version of themselves for each successive record. The fact that the results have been all over the map only indicates their willingness to step outside of a well-worn comfort zone, at the very least trying their best to confound expectations. Coldplay have become such a big name in pop music (I'm hesitant to use the term Rock), that it sometimes becomes very easy to forget the grace and glamour with which they their early records were imbued.

A Rush of Blood To The Head is a perfect example of a well-rounded and expertly executed record from a band that was just on the cusp of worldwide acclaim. If you go back and have a listen, you'll be reminded why: just a few years on from their very modest debut outing Parachutes, the band was willing to plug-in and expound in all mannered directions at once. Parachutes exuded a confident melodic sense, for sure, but wore most of these ideas out in the same hushed tones and acoustic arrangements. Well done for a band that didn't want to come out of the gates seeming over-eager, but although the album charted well and produced two lovely singles ("Yellow" and "Trouble"), the template was certainly used up by the conclusion of the record. Critics took note, though, and hailed the band as the second-coming of the original incarnation of Radiohead. A misplaced and (especially with hindsight being 20/20) completely inaccurate assessment of the career trajectory Coldplay would pursue, they nonetheless did take the opportunity to branch out with their second LP. In modest Coldplay fashion, of course, but to effective and applaudable results.

Opening with a blast of tempered passion, "Politik" rolls in on cascading guitar figures of the distorted variety before hushing immediately for quiet verses that set up a juxtaposition the band will bare out over the course of the remaining album. It swells and ebbs, and the breakdown in the middle of the song emits such a gloriously disarming sunshine that anyone would be forgiven for falling for the song on only its first spin. Luckily for any listener that was seduced (I, myself, obviously included), the record plays on with every bit as much intent and confidence. First single "In My Place" follows up on the promise of the shimmering mid-section with its own melancholic delight, employing a yearning Chris Martin vocal and a slow-swinging groove that asks only that we stop for a moment and pay attention. Unlike the laboured epic sound the band would shoot for later in its career, this song sounds nothing but effortless. And beautiful. The record continues to impress in this same way, vacillating between gentle and dreamy ("The Scientist", "Clocks") and more emphatically balls-forward numbers ("Warning Sign", "A Rush of Blood to The Head"). Coldplay accomplish a wonderful under-handed feat, whereby they continue their brilliant and confident songwriting streak but also add a whole bunch of colour to their original palette. By the time album closer "Amsterdam" comes sweeping through on a beautiful bed of solo piano, it's impossible not to feel like something truly special has just happened. Dark Side Of The Moon this is not, but it accomplishes a goal that is rarely met: a sophomore record that not only delivers on the promise of the debut, but bests it and expands upon it. Not an easy feat for any band, much less one that was already heralded "the next Radiohead".

As we all now know, the band would continue trying to best itself, but to sometimes disastrous results, and especially their next album X & Y, would come under heavy criticisms that were mostly warranted. Having made a record as uniformly strong as A Rush of Blood To The Head, who could blame the band for cracking under the pressure of making a follow-up? My point, though, has really nothing to do with what Coldplay have done since, except by way of backwards-comparison: if you've forgotten how good these guys can be with an unsullied melodic sensibility and the confidence of just really damn good songs... go back and listen. A Rush of Blood, indeed.

ALBUM REVIEW: Death Cab For Cutie- Kintsugi (2015)

Kintsugi is a rather important record for Death Cab. After taking a decidedly risky stylistic detour with Codes & Keys (the bands' 2011 effort that, while interesting and enjoyable, disappointed most of their fanbase), and with the announced departure of producer and guitarist Chris Walla- the veteran indie darlings stand at a crossroads.

Rather than throw out convention and redesign their sound from the ground-up, Ben Gibbard & Co. instead decide to do a nostalgic glance-backwards, while retaining and more effectively incorporating the dreamy synth heavy atmospherics they explored the last time out. Kintsugi being, by definition, the art of fusing lacquered gold & silver into the process of repairing broken pottery (a practice in Japanese art that philosophically aims to celebrate the broken history of a piece rather than hide it), one could interpret the record as a way to celebrate what some critics have labelled 'shortcomings' in the classic Death Cab for Cutie sound. A smart and prescient move for album number 8.

In my opinion, DCFC has always been about celebrating shortcomings- Gibbard's lyrics at their best reflect the inner crevices of messy love and the lost hopes and dreams we all carry along with us. By honing in and focusing on the kind of personal and intimate storytelling the band made its name presenting, Death Cab have made a record of songs that ease their way into your head & heart, instead of stumble and stretch to find new ground. This tactic might seem safe and stilted to some more cynical and demanding listeners, but to me seems more like a realignment of priorities and purpose. In fact, what made Codes & Keys hard to completely enjoy was the way that it felt like the band was trying its best to put on a dress that didn't quite fit. There are definitely some aural holdovers from that album to be found here (a move that makes sense and actually reinforces why we should still care about Death Cab For Cutie in 2015), but these songs have an unlabored forward momentum that feels honest and true in a way the widescreen phantasms of Codes & Keys simply didn't.

Still, with all of that said, the album does fall short of being anything resembling a masterpiece. Maybe that's ok, though, for a band that has spent 2 decades chronicling everyday hardships and practically spearheading a genre explosion that they were, at least on a musical level, never really that much a part of. These guys have made at least 3 absolutely essential modern-day indie rock records, and have at all times endeavoured- if not completely succeeded- to push their sound into exciting new places with each new album. If their eighth record sounds like a mature group of guys facing down middle age with the calm assurance of basking in the familiar, it's actually pretty hard to fault them for it. Maybe fixing what seemed broken really is enough after all.

ALBUM REVIEW: "Second Listen" - The Smashing Pumpkins- Zeitgeist Deluxe Edition (2007)

When Zeitgeist arrived in 2007, I wasn't exactly ecstatic about it. Yes, I had been waiting 7 long years for what was promised to be a triumphant return from one of my all-time favourite bands. What I got was a muddled heap of towering metallic guitars, a thin and improperly-mixed Billy Corgan, and just a laboured few of the kind of transcendent Pumpkins' moments I had been craving. Needless to say I didn't play that first version of Zeitgeist all that much at all. Save for "That's The Way (My Love Is), "Neverlost", and "Tarantula", I hadn't really found a whole lot to love about the album. In a lot of ways it left me alienated, both as a fan and as someone who appreciates great music. The album sounded like a parade that had forgotten to blow up its floats before marching down the main drag. Lots of noise but very little beauty.

About 2 years ago I realized there was a deluxe version of Zeitgeist floating around. It boasted 4 bonus tracks that were inexplicably left off of the original release of the album. Knowing that Billy Corgan had a penchant not only for b-sides and rarities, but REALLY GOOD b-sides and rarities (more often than not rivalling the quality and depth of album tracks), I was curious but cautious. I knew that Zeitgeist had some great ideas floating around within it's ham-fisted walls, but just couldn't vibe with how it seemed so one-sided. I've always been a fan of how The Smashing Pumpkins are adept at provoking many feelings and moods, and their youthful exuberance usually led them to take artistic detours that, while not always successful, were at least admirable and enjoyable. I never felt like they painted too much with one single colour until the arrival of the original Zeitgeist pressing. Naturally, I assumed that the once-fertile inspirational well that Billy & Co. drew from was now close to empty. With only 2 remaining members of the group left, it seemed the magic had dwindled and the band had simply misunderstood what their audience expected of them.

I have to admit that I was wrong about Zeitgeist. That is how much of an impact those extra 4 songs have had on me and my feeling towards the record in the time since I've discovered them. You wouldn't expect 4 b-sides to completely cast the record in a whole new light, but that's exactly what they do. Why did Billy decide to exclude "Stellar", "Ma Belle", "Death from Above",  and "Zeitgeist" from the original album? These are by no means among the best of the Pumpkins' considerable ouevre, but they are miles ahead of most of what made it onto Zeitgeist. "Stellar" surges with a twinkle-twilight rush of twisting guitar figures and understated emotional heft, culling to mind close aural kin "Set The Ray To Jerry" but with more umph and prescience. It has not only become one of my favorite songs on the album, but it has found its way into my heart as just a beautiful and potent Pumpkins song in general. "Ma Belle" boasts Billy's most poetic lyrical output since the glory days, paced along perfectly to a driving Jimmy Chamberlain signature backbeat. It doesn't feel rushed or ham-fisted, it just sounds honest and natural. Something the rest of Zeitgeist labours to express. The final 2-- "Death from Above" and "Zeitgeist", the former a new-wave trounce through the synthesizer-heavy colours of Billy's solo record The Future Embrace, and the latter a lilting acoustic lullaby akin to anything found on the American Gothic EP-- both add much needed shading to an album that lacked a variance in tone and intent.

By mixing these tracks into the general flow of the original album, they have managed to make me look at the entire collection differently. I can't pretend that I like the extended vocal bridge of United States (the passage in which Billy tunelessly yelps "let me be every moment I ever misunderstood" while ironically adding the tackiest of diminishing echo to the words), any more than I did before but I can now temper those obviously miscommunicated moments with the grander vision these 4 missing songs present. I wouldn't endeavour to call Zeitgeist any kind of masterpiece, but I've grown rather fond of "Bleeding The Orchid", "Doomsday Clock", "Come On (Lets Go)", and most of the other tracks originally presented precisely because balance has been restored. Zeitgeist is a more complete, well-rounded, and typically "Pumpkins" record with these tracks nestled beside the others. I wonder if Billy knew this and was just testing his audience, daring them to endure the colossal guitar attack, but promising more if they're willing to follow? I doubt this, but hey it could be true. I can't imagine any other reason why someone would leave these 4 lovely songs on the cutting room floor, especially with a record in tow that desperately needed them in order to stand up straight and tall.