Coldplay

Ah, the mighty Coldplay-- definitely one of the most famous and successful bands ever and I see why. Coldplay has an unrivaled ability to make captivating and emotional songs with a relatively minimalistic approach. From what I've read in a few interviews Coldplay is much more technically capable than they show, leaving it up to the "songwriter" approach. I'm still trying to figure out how they manage to make me feel sad and happy at the same time with just about every song. Coldplay has a colossal capacity to reach out to one's heart and strengthen him. The vocals are not particularly technically refined although they're very heartfelt. Chris Martin has a serious talent for enthralling the listener, especially in music videos where he really emotes well. The lyrics are very easy to relate to and follow a typical rock style. The guitar is usually really simple yet catchy and I get a feeling the guitarist doesn't want people to know how good he is. The bass is quite simple as well, just as bass so often is although there are a few very well written and catchy parts(see Life In Technicolor I 1:50-end). As for the drums I would say the same thing as I did about the others: simple, catchy rock style. There is a good bit of piano, organ, and soft synth pads throughout. Coldplay pull off a very atmospheric and contemplative feel with these as well as some neat effects often involving highly reverbed guitars.

On the negative side, I've rarely heard anything outside the formula from Coldplay. This would be much harder to endure if they weren't so freakin amazing. Coldplay is perhaps the only band about which I'd say: They don't NEED to be progressive or technical to earn my respect; they pull it off with minimalism.

Overall score: 8.0

Composition: 7.1

Performance: 8.8

Production: 8.2

Vox: 7.9

Lyrics: 7.8

Guitar: 7.4

Bass: 7.0

Keys: 8.5

Drums: 7.0

Genre: Rock, soft rock,