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.
