The trouble with latter-day Coldplay is that the influences they are so keen to keep up with are not befitting of their skills. Musically gifted but never quite capable of doing anything more than mirroring the current flavour of pop music, it only works for Chris Martin and the band when what they reflect is of similar quality. It is not that their pop music influences were a boon for the band, but it is arguable that we were in a better spot for the charts when Viva la vida or Death and All His Friends was released than we are now. Martin would perhaps be unwise in trying to backflip from a piano, falling flat on his back and destroying the battery pack bicycles keeping the wristbands in the back charged. It is easy now to mock Coldplay because we heard the highs they could hit. As much can be heard on Viva la vida.
Inspired by those tones of the time, Coldplay sounds far more instrumentally sincere and confident in their abilities than they did on their previous album, X&Y. Opening songs Life in Technicolour and Cemeteries of London feel their way through the capital not through Martin’s experiences, but through the eyes of the everyday. It is the sole time this lack of detail has worked for Coldplay. In broadness, there is a lack of sincerity, but here is a chance for those soppy piano notes to overhaul the vision of millions. That placidity is rocked somewhat by the rough transition into the organs and clapping of Lost!, but the tone Viva la vida takes on keeps firm. Coldplay celebrates life here and there is no way of disagreeing with that sincerity. Tasteful takes on life and death are found within. Coldplay’s celebration of life through Viva la vida is as much an acceptance of death as it is a list of lovely times.
42 is a staggeringly mature song from a band that now receives a bad rap for their weightless pop efforts. Coldplay hits a real purple patch on Viva la vida, ending with the title track but also including the criminally underrated Lovers in Japan. These are moments that the band had promised on their debut. Not only did they wish to top the charts, but they wanted to do so with an honest read on the world. That is what you get on their fourth studio album, and the strength of this project comes not from a comparison to future works, but the standalone brilliance which occurs across Viva la vida. The title track has been parodied into obsolescence, but return to it decades on from Minecraft and movie additions, and the song still holds heart. Part of that is Martin’s delivery, but the bigger draw is the instrumental strengths; those plucked strings and art rock movements are well placed.
Violet Hill and Strawberry Swing are in the unenviable position of having to follow up the best song on the album. But their purpose is not matching the energy or tempo, but in bringing a listener back down to earth. Martin and the band are at their very best on Viva la vida or Death and All His Friends. The second album title track makes for a tremendous closing moment, a worthy end to an album which is arguably the best offering from Coldplay. A truly delightful surprise of an album, not just because it is easier than first thought to clear nostalgic feelings from the listen, but because Viva la vida or Death and All His Friends still stands up brilliantly. There is a freshness still bursting from it, an intensity which picks up and remains vibrant over a decade on from Viva la vida’s release.
