Having sold 6.7 million albums in the U.S. alone, Chris Martin and the boys nonetheless find themselves in an unenviable position. Expectations for X&Y, Coldplay's follow-up to 2002's triple-platinum A Rush Of Blood To The Head, couldn't be higher.
In a parallel universe, the band would be competing with indie buzz bands The Shins and Death Cab For Cutie, or invasion-hopefuls Doves, for radio play. In this one, thanks to the fortuitous timing of the zeitgeist-capturing hit "Yellow," they're being asked to save both rock music and an industry starved for blockbuster sales. Thus, a critical backlash seems inevitable, particularly since it's hard to feel sorry for up-and-coming alt-rock superstars with celebrity wives.
Does X&Y deliver? Yes and no. Thankfully, it plays like a proper record, not a collection of singles. Individual songs sound better in context. The marginally good-as-a-single "Speed Of Sound," for instance, sounds lush and super-charged following the pensive title track. Although Martin excels at crafting sentimental couplets, his band constantly strains for stadium-rock heights, and such push-pull dynamics birth engaging results for the most part. Martin lacks the range of the singers he's often compared to; his voice plays like a quiet whisper to Bono's alpha-male howl and Thom Yorke's tortured-yelp. Yet it works to his advantage on the softer numbers. (Try and imagine Bono singing the transcendent "A Message" with as much subtlety and grace.)
Similarly, when the string-bending guitars threaten to overwhelm Martin during the bridge on the epic "Fix You," the band stages a lighters-aloft, group vocal moment, and, surprisingly, it works. Befitting its title, X&Y is Coldplay at their softest ("Kingdom Come") and loudest ("White Shadows"). Will Champion, Guy Berryman, and Jon Buckman rock more convincingly this time out, as heard on the driving "Low" and the brainy-yet-visceral "Square One."
X&Y may not prove a milestone in the vein of U2's The Joshua Tree. Whether or not it will spawn as many hits, rake in as much cash, or be as beloved by fans and critics remains to be seen.
The comparison, raised by the pre-release hype machine, isn't necessarily unfair. That record, too, was a hotly anticipated release from a band groomed for the responsibility of being the biggest in the world. Although Coldplay have delivered a fine record, all signs—especially the relative weakness of mediocre album-closer "Twisted Logic" and the tepid "The Hardest Part"—point to a band just short of its apex. Twenty years after the release of The Joshua Tree, U2 are still the biggest band in the world, but to paraphrase Martin himself: Like birds flying up from the underground, Coldplay are still gaining speed. And with X&Y, the little-indie-band-that-could take another step toward becoming supersonic.
