This is a quirky step in an unusual direction for the long-running and highly successful Rock band Coldplay. Obviously a conceptual artwork of sorts, this is a single album that is split in two (not unlike Coldplay’s previous 2005 release X&Y), thematically aimed to articulate the times of the day. A bit odd and artistically ambitious, even by Coldplay’s standards. This was released at a time when there was a ton of pressure on the band itself, and there were rumours that Coldplay would split. Regardless, this album is a stunning intellectually charged idea that received mostly positive reviews, although not on the concept, upon its release. Some songs are present on this album made from years before, but these older and newer songs are amalgamated into a unique blend of positivity aimed at changing the perceptions of others in the world, with more politically aimed lyricism this time around. That in itself is a clever idea. Even the so-called, “uncool nice guys of Rock” (as fellow UK musician James Hargreaves put it) had thrown in a few profanities on this album, contradicting their public image and musical persona somewhat. Regardless, this is another interesting and important listen so let’s take a listen to this album and we shall hear what it sounds like.

Sunrise begins with a droning violin being played, which is eerie. Some extra strings are thrown into the mix, which is different. This sounds like a darker Classical Music-styled piece that sounds odd. This continues on for some time and sounds pretty and grandiose. Regardless, this is a good opening for such an album and it sets the scene and mood very nicely for a piece of music of its sort. The strings reach a louder peak in the second half, which is melancholy and moving. A good but prolonged beginning to an interesting album. It ends after two and a half minutes in length.

Church begins with some crisp acoustic guitar and solid drum beats. This quickly launches into a pseudo-EDM tune with guitars, strings and other instrumentation to match. Chris Martin sings well here, singing in a higher register than usual. Surprisingly catchy, this is a solidly good effort to start this album with. Coldplay still could surprise and please others with their fantastic music. There is a breakdown in the midsection with fluid bass guitar and electric guitar parts, along with some awesome singing and textures. This goes on nicely for a while and sounds pretty, euphoric and different. Some guest female vocals are present here, and this is a really nicely dedicated and amazing World Music-styled listening experience. You don’t need to be Christian to appreciate this beautiful song. It ends with harmonies and crisp acoustic guitars that are extremely soulful. Excellent.

Trouble In Town begins with some warped organ, deep fragments of sound and this resembles a lot of music that is similar to Radiohead’s Kid A on this particular track. Chris Martin sings softly about the troubles present in a small town that one has to deal with. This has some excellent keyboard, guitar and a good imaginative sense of sound about it. This is an excellent listen still at this point of the album. A reassuring listen that is more textural than song-based, it has some sampled dialogue which isn’t at all pleasant. It is a very unpleasant listening experience to hear this section as it details cops arguing with a bystander of a police incident with threatening language. This then leads to a good guitar solo-based section that is soundscape-based and imaginative. This has a breakdown with a prominent bass guitar and some more sound samples present. It wraps up after four and a half minutes. It’s okay but obviously not the greatest Coldplay have ever done here.

BrokEn begins with the sound of finger clicks and singing between Chris Martin and a small crowd. It is a different listening experience, and something definitely quirky for Coldplay to do at this point. It’s a straightforward listen that, outside of this concept album, would make little sense. A good tune without being a great listen, but it shows that Coldplay understands traditional music just as much as postmodern music. The piano and singing throughout are very cheerful. Different, yet good to hear. It ends after two and a half minutes in length.

Daddy begins with Pink Floydian beats in the distance before some moody piano enters. This does not sound very happy at all. A sad and different musical listen, Chris Martin sings about his own father and this piece sounds sad and emotional here. It is not an easygoing, light-hearted listen that one would have hoped for. Instead, this is a painful piece of sad music that is very moving. Regardless, this is a good song, it just sounds very moody and emotional. Coldplay’s music can be like this at times, and this isn’t the most cheerful or pleasant listening experience from the group. It’s good but again not great. Still, one can appreciate the effort musically here. This eventually enters into some acoustic guitar strumming towards the end of this song, and Chris Martin begs for his father to reconcile. Very bleak, it ends with birds chirping.

WOTW / POTP is a much more cheerful tune with some distant-sounding recordings of Chris Martin singing and playing acoustic guitar, traditionally and simply. It’s a good intermission sort of piece that sounds unique and different. A nice tune to listen to, this is a better representation of the sort of music Coldplay make. A nice listen, it ends with sounds of suburbia meshing into the next track.

Arabesque leads on into some village noise, and this continues for some time. Eventually, the sounds of Coldplay emerge and this launches into a very unusually flavoured tune by the group. It has acoustic guitars, brass sections and strange melodies to boot. Chris Martin sings nicely over Fender Telecasters here, and this whole tune is quite political at its best intents. There is some guest singing present here, and this is a different take on World Music itself. It’s okay, but quite frankly, Coldplay has done better than this beforehand. Some sweet saxophone is present in this song, and the music is very lively here. A really good and varied listening experience, the saxophone is drenched in reverb and delay excellently. Coldplay may have been past their heyday at this point, but this is a reminder of past glories as a band. In any case, this is a very different and unusual listening experience. “Yeah, we share the same blood,” is a reminder that racism is not a healthy mindset at all. This song ends with some weird and chaotic electronic sounds and other noise going on. Decent and different. It ends after nearly six minutes in length.

When I Need A Friend begins with the sound of rain and thunder. It then launches into Christian-styled chanting. This isn’t really what Coldplay is about, to be frank. The choir singing, even with Chris Martin here, is a bit much. If you are not Christian, don’t bother with this song. It does have a dash of piano in it, but aside from that, this is not needed on this album. It ends with the sound of rain and thunder, again. This is followed by some Latin American speech. Really weird.

Guns begins the second half of this album. It begins much more sensibly with upbeat acoustic guitar and Chris Martin singing about the atrocities of the postmodern political divide at hand. This is not intelligent politics that one can find in the works of books or the like. Instead, it comes across as a strange piece of music about an upcoming apocalypse. The use of the “f” word really sounds out of place here as well. An okay song with some impressive acoustic guitar playing.

Orphans begins with some treated school choir singing, before launching into a weird listening experience that sounds different. It is a typical post-peak Coldplay listen, which sounds neither interesting nor memorable. The chorus is detestable, and the choirs alongside Chris Martin’s singing and rather a plain musical piece are not very good here. This is all very disappointing to hear, and the music is nowhere as consistent as earlier Coldplay material. This brings a point to note about the flaws of this album: it is more textural and inconsistent than anything Coldplay did during the 2000s. This terrible piece of music sounds like wannabe Hillsong Music, and the chanting throughout is awful. Skip this one, it’s awful.

Èkó begins with some crisp acoustic guitar playing that is multitracked and excellent. This is matched by piano and sounds a ton better than the song before it. Chris Martin sings a deeper and more insightful tune here. This is a shorter and more interesting piece that sounds quite good. Sure, this album is very patchy but this is one of the better pieces from it. The acoustic guitars and piano sound fantastically matched here, and this is an enjoyable winner of a song. A genuinely sweet listen with insightful and imaginative lyrics, this ends after two and a half minutes. Sweet.

Cry Cry Cry is beyond awful. It is a mock take on an old 1940s-styled tune with pitch-shifted female vocals, and piano and this is by far one of Coldplay’s worst songs to date. This cements this album release as one of the worst by Coldplay so far, and it does not have a shred of quality about it whatsoever as a song. Purile rubbish, this is enough to make one roll their eyes along whilst hearing the song. Fortunately, this song is less than three minutes long. Please do not listen to this junk, it is not worth it. A terrible listening experience from start to finish.

Old Friends begins with some sweet acoustic guitar and sounds excellent from the start. Chris Martin sings a nice song about memories of friends who mean something to oneself. A better song from this album, this does not make this album much better, but it still is worth hearing anyway. Coldplay sounds great on the more minimal tracks such as these, and less great on the other more textural songs. A good and welcoming listening experience.

بنی آدم is a piano-led piece from the start. It sounds like a piece of Classical Music for the 21st century. It is unusual for Coldplay to place such a piece onto an album. Still, this is a very good listening experience that sounds quite good to the musically adventurous out there. The music here is finely played. In the middle, it stops and a typical Coldplay-styled track enters. This sounds different, for sure. Some sampled Persian female speaking is here, and this sounds very unique for what it is. A weird mish-mash, but such is this album. A good listen for such a song. This segues into the next track.

Champion Of The World plays some weird old-sounding recordings and sounds fairly awful from the start. It quickly launches into a very poor song that doesn’t inspire nor warrant hearing. The drumbeats are quite good, however. Chris Martin’s singing is okay, but this music is so textural-based and uninspired that it is not anywhere near as consistent as earlier Coldplay work. This also takes some patience and persistence to get through. Sadly, Coldplay are mainly remembered for their first two albums, and nothing else. Later efforts, such as this song, are almost akin to fingernails down a blackboard. This is not a good listening experience and Coldplay themselves probably knew it at the time as well. An empty and hollow-sounding listening experience, there is little to enjoy here. It ends with some unusual electronics, before concluding with some guitars and a gradual fade out.

Everyday Life concludes this album. It begins with some spacey textures and the village-like sounds from earlier on in the album. Thankfully, this sounds actually okay. The keyboard swells, string sections and piano present here sound quite good. A good way to finish off an otherwise average album. Chris Martin sings about being aware of his position in time and space and wishing to keep positive in a negative world. If only the rest of the album were as good as this song. In any case, this is an impressive and moving conclusion to a conceptual album that is deeply inspired by Radiohead-styled artistic concepts. A good listen, sounding very ethereal. The album ends with Chris Martin singing, “Hallelujah”, smoothly over the top of strings to conclude. Good work.

This is more of the same average nature of Coldplay that many have come to expect. It is actually a fairly poor listen in comparison to their earlier works in the 2000s. Indeed, Chris Martin himself especially sounds as though he is doing some intellectual posturing here, which really isn’t necessary. This is an album that is good on paper, but musically a very average mish-mash. Should you listen to this album? Only really if you are a Coldplay fan, otherwise you may want to hear something better instead.

Up and down, all over the place.

5/10