ALBUM REVIEWS

Coldplay
A Rush of Blood to the Head
Parlophone 26th August 2002
@www.vanguard-online.co.uk

 It's been a long long wait and Coldplay have a lot to live up to. Around the time of Parachutes the record company made much of the youth of the band and their "wide-eyed wonder". What I heard was a calculating series of plastic songs, lacking in genuine soul. Two years on and the band has to find a new niche. Now 24 and 25 years old, this album is going to sell hugely whether it's good or not. What I wanted to know was - will it move me? Rush Of Blood delivered a wide range of styles, thoughtfully sung. The album is beautifully recorded - not spare but simple. Songs are simply played and carefully sung in a clear, forward space. The lyrics are as heartfelt and sensitive as before but the big tunes are fewer and the playing is a bit too self-possessed. Carefully crafted and glittering like a piece of cubic zirconium, where Parachutes wormed it's ways into my grudging affections, Rush completely failed to engage me on an emotional level. It didn't make me feel happy, sad, in love, joyful, depressed - just mildly impressed at the sound. Coldplay have worked very hard and carefully at this record. Unfortunately, in this unfair world, there are no prizes for effort alone.

Ross McGibbon