Firstly, I’m sorry. I hate it when people post more that one op in a day. I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry. But I have waited for so long for this album to come out, and I just got an email saying I’d been added to Ciao…what’s a girl to do! I promise I’ll never be so naughty again!

Now, I never used to be a big Coldplay fan. I thought they were very over rated. I did see them at Glastonbury in 2000, just before the release of their debut album, Parachutes, and they were great, but overall, I thought they were jumping on the indie bandwagon. About 3 months ago though, I gave Parachutes a listen. I was amazed! It was fab, gorgeous and really damn good! I couldn’t wait for their new album to arrive!

I bought the singles, I taped their TV appearances, I even went onto the offical website to listen to the new songs. And finally, yesterday, the CD arrived, which I’d pre ordered from CD Wow for £8.99.

Firstly, lets look at the packaging. The front cover of A Rush Of Blood To The Head is pretty simple and eye catching – a technical style drawing of a person, with only half a head (the same style picture is used on the front of the In My Place single.” ) The cover doesn’t carry the name of the artist of title of the album, it’s just very simple and eye catching. Nice! The CD booklet carries black and white pictures of the band, and, asusual, doesn’t have any song lyrics – this is something which seems to now be very pase, so instead we all just have to make the words up! The CD booklet also contains some info about the Make Trade Fair campaign, and info about a website – I’ll be writing an op on this shortly, so I won’t babble on about that!

So, now to the most important part. The songs. Can they live up to Parachutes? Will any make Abby cry? Lets go…through the keyhole… (Oh god I’m actually going mad.)

POLITIK (5.18)

Begins with a bizarre drum and guitar intro, which makes way for a piano and vocal verse. The piano is gorgeously simple, with Chris Martin’s gorgeous vocals sounding great. Certainly a strange tune, altering between very quiet verses and very loud chorus’ with a strong, prominent drum beat. The second verse see’s the introduction of a quiet drum beat, meaning we are waiting and anticipating the chorus. The line “Open up your eyes” is used throughout the chorus, and has a very clear message (I think it’s to do with the fair trade campaign, hence the title – politik.) The middle 8 is back to Coldplays searing, atmospheric harmonies, with gorgeous strings, and Martins’ vocals being at their best. Coldplay’s trademark jangly guitars aren’t hugely evident in this song, although they can be heard slightly in the musical interlude. I’m not a massive fan of the chorus to this tune, but with such a wonderful middle 8 and musical interlude I don’t care! 8/10 – Good first track

IN MY PLACE (3.48)

Ahh, here are the guitars. The song begins with a simple drum beat, over which comes a gorgeous high guitar riff. The beauty of this song is its simplicity – its so simple that it can’t help be amazing. We also have a very subtle 70s style organ in this song under the vocals, which is hardly noticeable, but gives the song a wonderful new dimension. The chorus to this song I think has already got epic written all over it, and pretty much everyone in the country has been singing it at some point over the past few weeks. The song builds up gradually through, with the texture always getting slightly thicker, with more drums, bass or vocals added. It’s almost like music by numbers – such a simple, almost obvious structure, which sounds incredible. The musical interlude is the guitar riff with strings over the top, which is so simple, but breaks the song up well. “Please, please, please come back and sing to me”…the lyrics are so beautiful! The song ends with a repeat of the beginning of the first verse, accompanied only by strings. Amazing. 9/10 – Stunning

GOD PUT A SMILE UPON YOUR FACE (4.57)

The first song I heard on this album, and definitely one which grows on you. The song starts with an acoustic guitar playing chords which are used throughout the verse. Martin’s vocals in the first verse are the only thing used with the guitar, before a drum beats and electric guitar riff comes in. The second verse also sees the bass come in, playing a pretty funky but subtle bassline. The chorus to this tune is fantastic, and pure Coldplay – jangly guitar, varying speed vocal line, and the line “Your guess is as good as mine.” The chorus is much better than the verse, and the song itself is almost snarled by Martin. His voice is great in this tune – he sounds so bored and kind of bitchy! Again, the texture varies throughout the song, but is always pretty thin, but this is certainly not a bad thing! The musical interlude is great, and similar to the chorus, only much thicker, and does have Martin’s vocals over the top, repeating words out of the chorus. 7/10 – Good song as an album track, not a single.

THE SCIENTIST (5.09)

One of the best two tracks on the album, and pretty much certain to be the next single. This is the albums version of ‘Trouble’, on Parachutes. The song begins with piano playing minor chords, which go on to form the verse. Even the start of the song is heartbreaking, and Martins vocals are so full of emotion that you honestly can’t hear this song. First verse –

“Come up to meet you,
Tell you I’m sorry,
You don’t know how lovely you are.
I had to find you,
Tell you I need you,
Tell I set you apart.”

I have tears in my eyes just listening to this song! Obviously about Martin’s heartbreaking split with his girlfriend 16 months ago, the song has a wonderful string section in, which is so subtle but gives the song an amazing depth which it couldn’t have without it. After the first chorus, an acoustic guitar is introduced, playing the same chords as the piano – simple, but a wonderful back up. Unlike a lot of songs which get ruined when the drums come in, this song comes into it’s own, with a wonderful backing vocal accompaniment also coming in. The song never strays from it’s roots – it stays simple, doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. The lyrics are so wonderful, the music totally acts as a back up to the message they are giving, which rarely works. “You tell me you love me – come back an haunt me” is so reminiscent of Wuthering Heights, and such a heartbreaking line you have to feel sorry for him. An electric guitar comes in just before the end, but just backs up the song, and doesn’t ruin it in any way. As you may have guessed, I adore this song. 10/10 – Heartbreaking

CLOCKS (5.07)

Great follow up tune, the son begins with a pretty complex piano line, before the guitar and drums come in. The verse’s texture is wonderfully thin, with just drums, synth and vocals, with the piano being reintroduced for the middle 8. This song doesn’t really drastically change at any point – stays wonderfully simple, with vocal melodies being used to create a different side to it, and to stop it getting boring. It’s a lovely tune, again, quite jangly, relying this time on the piano and strings rather than the guitar. When the song does change, the line “And nothing else compares” is sung over what almost sounds like a stuck CD – very jerky and repeatative. The songs alters between being very quiet with not much happening, to everything happening at once, and this works wonderfully well. Towards the end the vocal line changes, as does the percussion, with the introduction of more cynmbals, which works really well. 9/10 – A fantastic album track, good follow up to such an incredible song.

DAYLIGHT (5.27)

This is old style Coldplay – opening with a solo guitar riff, over a drum beat, with a vocal beat coming in over the drums and vocal harmonies. Sounds like it’s come straight from Parachute’s! Surprisingly, one of the most important aspects of this song is the bass line, which supports the entire song. The chorus is very thick in texture, with a lot going on, and Martins high-pitched “ooooohhhhh”’s over the music. The texture alternates throughout the song, with the thin verses acting as a huge contrast to the chorus. The guitar riff in this is great – its all slurred into each other (wrong word I know!), giving it a kind of lazy, attitude to it, which works fantastically, and as a good contrast to the rest of the more structure music in the song. The song finished with “Slowly breaking through to daylight”, over piano, bass and strings, and then the guitar riff mentioned earlier. 7/10 – Great tune, but not one of my faves.

GREEN EYES (3.43)

Again, another old style Coldplay song, starting with Martin’s vocals over an acoustic guitar playing a great chord selection. The first chorus also is just the guitar and Martin, but with some vocal harmonies to thicken up the texture. The second verse is the same as the first, with drums and bass being introduced in the second chorus. The drum beat in this song is wonderfully happy and up beat, with the typical Coldplay jangly guitars included. It’s a very simple, jangly, summery song, and doesn’t change much at any point. It’s also pretty short. 7/10 – Not one of the best

WARNING SIGN (5.31)

Now, to my second fave on the album. Another song about the break up of his relationship, it has to be one of the best songs I’ve heard all year. The song opens with a guitar and strings, before the intro of a simple guitar riff. The verse is Martins vocals over an electric guitar playing the same chords as the opening, with a bass and second guitar backing it up. The chorus however, is truly amazing. Strings, guitar, and a searing voice - “Yeah the truth is, that I miss you so.” With the song being in a major key, the fact that it’s got such heartbreaking lyrics is easily missed. When you really listen to them though is when you realise the true genius of the song. “You were an island to discover” – the lyrics are so senimental I’d normally be sick, but they work so perfectly! The strings really make this song what it is – the part they play in the chorus is truly indispensable, and gives the song such an epic quality that it’s impossible not to like it. The song ends with a piano and guitar, with Martin singing “So I’ll crawl back into your open arms.” It’s incredible, heartbreaking, happy and perfect. How his ex can hear this and not want him back is beyond me.
10/10 – Perfect but will enver be realised as it’s such a sensitive song.

A WHISPER (3.58)

Slightly similar to Politik, this is the song I feel is weakest on the album. Much more of an urgency to this song, with a much thicker texture, including guitar, bass, vocals, drums, and a much more edgy string section. We still have the jangly guitars, but they are not as prominent due to the thickness of the song. The song doesn’t really change a massive amount at any point, and there isn’t a massive amount I can really say about it. It gets better towards the end, with the guitar coming into its own, with the jangly riff being more prominent. The urgency subsides, and the song generally becomes much easier to listen to. 6/10 – The track you always fast forward, even though it’s not a bad song.

A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD (5.51)

Opens with Martin’s vocals and acoustic guitar, this is very similar to Spies from the first album. The strings are very subtly introduced, before becoming a real Coldplay classic – with a searing, simple guitar riff, and Martins high vocals over the top. The drums come in for the second verse, with the introduction of a much thicker texture with more guitars. This is a song you have to work at – it does get much better as it goes on, and is a truly great song. The texture alters between being very thick and much simpler, with Martins vocals having a harmony over the top. Again we have a subtle synth in the background, giving it more depth. In my opinion, Coldplays sound is encapsulated in this song – it has the thin texture, the gorgeous vocals, the repeated plucked guitar line and simple, backing drum beat. The song ends with all the layers gradually being taken away, leaving the voice and guitar. On first listen I wasn’t a he fan, but now I love this song. 8/10 – Very good after a few listens.

AMSTERDAMN (5.19)

A true ending song. It opens with a lone piano, before Martin’s vocals come in. Both piano and vocal lines are incredibly simple, and complement each other wonderfully. The second verse begins an octave higher, with Martin showing off his wonderful vocal range – he sounds at his best, I think, when he is singing high. The chorus sees a wonderfully thick harmony backing up the vocal line. The song relies a lot on vocal harmonies, and this works wonderfully well, and is also quite a unique thing in today’s music industry, who tend to frown upon this kind of vocal lead music (they seem obsessed with guitars leading everything!) The intro of a synth gives a new dimension to the song, thickens up the texture, and introduces the guitar and drums, to bring the song back into real Coldplay territory. Martin’s vocals are faultless, and sound as fantastic when it’s the whole band as when it’s just him and the piano. The song fnished on a minor piano chord, and quite abruptly. 8/10 – Great trqck, but will often not get listened to as it’s the final one.

So, is it any good? It’s amazing. Pure genius. I’m not easy to impress but this album is wonderful, heartbreaking, happy – it really puts you through it. I cannot beg you all enough to buy it – we have to get this to number 1! If you like indie but don’t like Coldplay then I can guaranteed you’ll be impressed, and extremely glad you bought it! I’ve actually bought 2 copies – one for me, one for my Mum, as neither of us wanted to have it on a copyed CD.

This album is so obviously from the heart, and has some incredible lyrics about Martin’s break up with his girlfirned. They aren’t hideously slushy, they are genuine, and obviously took a lot for him to write. So many bands write about pretend heartache today, and you can really tell how fake it is.

I cannot recommend this highly enough – this albums had me in tears, and even had me sending a text to my mate last night saying it made my heart hurt!

Again, I’m really really sorry for posting a second op today but I couldn’t wait to write this one! I’m sure my love of the album is pretty obvious through this op!

Did that provide a welcome relief from the Lush ops then?