It doesn’t actually matter – these topics are universal. We don’t even want to know what happened in the singer’s recent past. No AVICII dance tune can erase what happened. It’s the feeling of letting go moving on, even if it still hurts. ‘Maybe one day I’ll fly with you’ remains his hope. ‘A flock of birds hovering above / That’s how you think of love’ sums Martin up in the tender closing track O. It’s the return to hope in form of a life-embracing dance anthem. But although completely contrary to the rest of the record it totally fits in its concept. The collaboration with Swedish EDM shooting star AVICII clearly resembles the ‘Confetti COLDPLAY‘.
It’s kind of ironic that the floating synthetic outro of this Parachutes-like song leads us right into A Sky Full of Stars. The reduced and almost acoustic track is the clearest nod to the band’s roots in years. ‘You’ve got to find yourself alone in this world’ sings Martin in Oceans. On this journey the protagonist gets lost in memories, nostalgia and loneliness.
It starts in a state of desperation and slowly moves towards a more hopeful place. In one of the rare interviews for the release of Ghost Stories Martin told about the arc of the album and its concept. With the help of long-time friend JON HOPKINS COLDPLAY tumble through a cold and synthetic forest – ‘In the darkness before the dawn.’ A solid way of combining the band’s past ability to create emotions with some new musical adventures.
The powerful Midnight is a secret highlight of the album. Chris Martin is dealing with the cracks of his emotional love life again before drifting right into darkness. ‘Tell me you love me / if you don’t, then lie to me’ – although True Love drowns in a sea of strings it feels like it is a bittersweet love song. They are equal to the traditional instrumentation in order to create the floating and dreamy atmosphere of this pop album. But they use the synthetic beats and synthesizers in a very decent way. Ghost Stories is the band’s most electronic album so far. One thing gets clearer and clearer with every song. The single Magic continues this feeling although already showing the band’s infamous anthem potential towards the end. The colours of Mylo Xyloto are washed away by the rain. It feels like the aftermath of the party. ‘I think of you / I haven’t slept / I think I do / But I don’t forget’ are the first words sung by Martin as the opener Always In My Head unfolds its slow groove over wide and gentle synthesizer pads. COLDPLAY move forward once again – but in a way more satisfying way. And it’s clearly not a return to Parachutes. Before the stadiums, LED-screens and confetti. Ghost Stories is both – Martin facing his demons and COLDPLAY reconnecting with the feeling of their earlier work. Who cares about a mutual agreement in public – a divorce is never easy. Not so much for the band but as the ten-year-long marriage between Chris Martin and actress Gwyneth Palthrow broke it felt like the charismatic songwriter needed a new focus. It wasn’t that surprising but it felt like the feeling was finally gone, leaving the band drowning in irrelevance.Īlthough everything looked perfect from the shiny outside things were different behind the facade. The band did the same with their colourful but soulless confetti stadium shows and costumes. The mediocre and predictable songs covered the lack of ideas behind a shallow layer of synthesizers and pomp. With their last album Mylo Xyloto it felt like the British superstars lost track. But the rise to global stardom came with a few ugly accompaniments. The world’s biggest band might have been on a constant high ever since they released their debut album Parachutes 14 years ago. You can’t expect to get bigger and bigger and still avoid the fall.