It may seem like decades now since Coldplay made honest music, and that’s because it has been decades since they last did. The Chris Martin-fronted group has been out of the loop on what their earliest listeners want for some time now. Collaborations with BTS and cycling machines in the front row are hardly replacements for the surprising and stylish subtleties they would offer with Parachutes and even X&Y. Their run of albums between 2000 and 2008 may have been more a reflection of what was popular than anything unique, but it was a wonderful experience, nonetheless. Just seven years later and things had changed for Coldplay. A Head Full of Dreams is a sudden drop-off from mediocre to poor, and the band has yet to bounce back from that slump. Did it start here? Their falling apart sounds loudest here, that’s for sure.
Martin’s head may be full of dreams, but it is empty of ideas. They pulled out the best of their work years before this and, since then, have been left rummaging around the recycling bin for more. A band can have longevity without the need to continue releasing. Coldplay would have a much better reputation had they called time on songwriting but still performed. The words “Grateful Dead of pop music” flashed into mind for a moment, there, and that twisted definition shall, hopefully, never return. Music as breezy as the Buenos Aires air, where the A Head Full of Dreams live album was recorded. Coldplay proves once more that they are mirrors to the charts rather than trendsetters. Their opening, title track is a lighter than light pop effort, a complete optimistic drive where the few pangs of reality are noted and ignored. The same occurs with the follow-up song Birds.
Hymn for the Weekend is the most egregious of all, though. A song which no doubt began peppering in this love for the weekend as a respite from the wage wars. A Head Full of Dreams is a radio-friendly album, tailor-made for people who need some manufactured positivity before the dull day ahead. It’s beyond middle-of-the-road music. This is music made to block out the maddening thoughts on the drive home from work. A way of muting the masses. Not a second of it feels sincere, none of it is here to challenge the world around us or even make the listener think. It’s the stock option. Everyone knows Coldplay, but few remember the band used to pass comment, however feeble, on the state of the world. Their backing off from a cultural relevancy beyond chart positions is disturbing, and it comes to life loudest of all on A Head Full of Dreams.
Beyond the lack of heartfelt message, the faux “hope you’re okay” sentiment running through A Head Full of Dreams is paired with the numbest of piano pieces. Martin still has an exceptional voice, and the band are still talented musicians, they are just hollow. Adventure of a Lifetime asks people to feel alive again, but gives them no reason to feel that way. There is no direct involvement from Martin and the band in the feelings they hope their music conjures. So distant are they that it creates an inverse feeling. Sincere or not, their joyous pop consistencies are grating because they lack a depth they were once proud of, featuring it best of all on Viva la vida or Death and All His Friends. Why they shied away from that, listeners can only speculate, but it worsens the projects to follow, particularly A Head Full of Dreams.
