Music Under Fire

Wow, its amazing how Viva La Vida stuck like Krazy Glue in my mind since their release in mid-June. Since then, I've heard the album many times, sometimes giving myself a much needed break from it, then coming back and realizing new subtleties each new time around. Coldplay's album is spectacular, and although we didn't do a full out critique of it in a review, our rating of the album is a 8.8.

Why? That is very high for us, but given the amount of changes they've made from their previous album, there is very little to be umoved by. If you want more opinions on this album, perhaps you check out some of their best reviews in Spin, The Onion (A.V. Club), Paste Magazine, Lost At Sea or their highest in Entertainment Weekly - these are all 80 out of 100 and above. If you think you'll get a better feel for the album by reading some of the worst out there, visit Paste Magazine, Hartford Current, Tiny Mix Tapes, or Village Voice. However, we know these guys are all just looking for attention. How unreasonably low can you rate such a satisfying album? I don't hear any Coldplay fans disagreeing...

I enjoyed this quote from Chris Martin back in 2005, shortly after X&Y was released The Gazette, and I think it says a lot about VLV:

"When you do something that some people don't like quite so much, then you
are free again. Your whole canvas is open."