This is my Album Review of Coldplay’s new album, “Everyday Life”, released yesterday on the anniversary of JFK’s death (random fact). In my time I’ve loved Coldplay (Parachutes) and equally hated them (Ghost Stories); I’ve found myself to be indifferent (Mylo Xyloto and all the Live album releases) and I’ve mocked them savagely (Wa waooooh oooh, woohoo, etc.). Better I have an opinion of their music than not, hey, Muse? I regret none of this, but you cannot argue that Chris Martin and his crowd have longevity, originality, and in places pure quality.

My first experience with Coldplay was nothing short of euphoric. I was in the Fire Station (a bar) in Waterloo around the middle of the summer in 2000 when a friend pulled a CD from his coat, sheepishly, and said, ‘you need to hear this’, with emphasis on ‘need’! Parachutes had just been released at that point but I borrowed and listened and just knew it was special. I was there at the beginning, as I was with U2 twenty years previously. Through that time I’ve fallen out of like with them but latterly, I feel a bit more like (‘Everglow’).

First of all this album is produced beautifully, it sounds sumptuous. Yes, I have a pair of Paradigm Persona 3F speakers that are ‘Focal Sopra No.2’ special so it is hard to dislike anything at the moment but this album really does feel expertly presented. One example is in ‘When I Need a Friend’ where there is a lovely analogue feel to the dialogue that draws your attention perfectly.

It is hard to define the tone of the album. It is very eclectic, staccato indeed and wandering in the sheer variety of the music that ranges from cinematic (‘Sunrise’), to anthemic (‘Church’), to choral (‘BrokEn’), to U2ish (‘Trouble in Town’), to piano laments (‘Daddy’).  There are old school Blues (‘WOTW/POTP’) and psychedelic sax riffs here too (‘Arabesque’) not to mention some Gregorian monk chanting followed by hilariously observed profanity in ‘Guns’ before we revert to old-style Coldplay with ‘Orphans’. It is a bit mad, to be honest, but I like it; I’m not saying this is the ‘White Album’ but the sheer eclectic feel of chucking it all out there makes this reminiscent of that Beatles Album, which is also a bit mad.

Lyrically, there’s plenty of depth here and without reciting lyrics BrokEn, Daddy, WOTW/POTP, Guns and others are worth a careful listen.  The track’ بني آدم’ means Children of Adam which is a poem by an Iranian artist called Banny Adam, it is beautiful and it rolls wonderfully, in a way only Coldplay could,  into ‘Champion of the World’.

Overall, surprisingly, I’m enjoying this album, more than I did with ‘A Head Full of Dreams’  and I think you should have a listen too. See my rating system in ‘About‘

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Everyday Life
Sunrise:
01 Sunrise ***
02 Church ****
03 Trouble in Town ****
04 BrokEn ****
05 Daddy ****
06 WOTW / POTP **** (Wonder of the World/Power of the People, I gather?)
07 Arabesque ****
08 When I Need a Friend ****

Sunset:
01 Guns ****
02 Orphans *****
03 Èkó ****
04 Cry Cry Cry ****
05 Old Friends *****
06 بني آدم  ****
07 Champion of the World ****
08 Everyday Life ***

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Album – Everyday Life
Artist – Coldplay
Label – Parlophone
Released – 22 November 2019
Download These At Least – Guns, Orphans, Old Friends, Everyday Life, BrokEn, بني آدم

Source – Tidal MQA
Player – Bluesound Node 2i streamer to Benchmark DAC3 B
Amplification – Benchmark LA4 pre to Benchmark AHB2 Power Amplifier
Output – Paradigm Persona 3F
Cables – QED Supremus speaker & Altas Mavros interconnects

Tracks – 16
Time – 52′ 51″
My Rating – 3.9 (out of 5)
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