Coldplay is a band known throughout the world for their infectious melodies and serene vibes. Their songs are as soothing to the ears as lullabies, and send shivers running down your spine with a single lyric. The band first reached a level of international success when they released their debut album titled Parachutes in 2000; the words of the song “Yellow” have reached ears all over the world, and have become an anthem to teenagers everywhere. Since then, Coldplay has unveiled multiple critically-acclaimed albums, with singles such as “Clocks,” “Viva la Vida,” “Paradise,” and their most recent, “Magic,” creeping their way up the charts and into the heads of everyone and their mother. On May nineteenth, the band released their sixth record, titled Ghost Stories, which leaves you just the slightest bit disturbed, but only in the most fantastic of ways.
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| The band Coldplay Photo credit: Billboard.com |
The album starts out with a three and a half minute tune titled “Always In My Head” that is just that: it embeds itself into your mind with its soft lyrics and tranquil instruments. It is slow and intimate, a seamless melody to dance a waltz to at two in the morning with someone while still wearing your pajamas. The next song, “Magic”, was released prior to the album as its own single, but it retains its own magic. I listen to it and picture a secret world: fairies dance in the night air as the song plays on, the trees blossom with white, luminescent flowers, the branches smile with content, and you are left in the midst of it all with a charming ringing in your ears and slight feelings of nostalgia and deja vu as you walk back to the campsite, where the song “Ink” is already in swing. However, don’t just focus on the simple elegance of the guitar, or the synthetic firefly harmonies; the lyrics are passionate with an air as sweet as a nectarine.
From there, the album moves on to “True Love”, a song that makes me want to dance around in the darkness in a silk nightdress with my hair in curlers and some sloppily-applied chapstick. It’s a beautiful serenade that leaves the taste of sparkling grape juice in my mouth and results in my physical self stepping outside into the night and craving to stargaze, to discover new constellations, and to find myself. Now it’s “Midnight” and you’re back in the woods, in the deep dark depths of the forest, and more mythical and mystical creatures creep out of hiding as the song goes on. It is darker than the rest of the songs, but likewise it is as light as feather down,rough like sandpaper, yet as soft as duvet covers. The first few chords of “Another’s Arms” literally send you into the arms of an angel: it is compelling and features a soft operatic voice full of mystery. The raw guitar of “Oceans” beckons your name and guides you back to the camp with ease, all the while running notes down your spine and murmuring the lyrics in your ear to numb the pain and introduce your senses to the feeling of wistfulness. The next track, “A Sky Full of Stars”, is the beginning of a bittersweet goodbye; it is powerful in a different sense of the word. It leaves you feeling powerless at the end because you allow your entire being to become one with the song and you feel the full force of the words and the beat. Traces of a tangy taste are all that is left, besides a sweet melody, sweeter memories, and a slight feeling of bliss. “O” is the title of the final track, and it rotates in a perfectly full circle to match the debut track: it is serene, and a piano is offered to you as an ultimate farewell as you find yourself in the kitchen, dancing once again in the middle of the night in your pajamas. Coldplay’s Ghost Stories tells a story, as any great album should, and even leaves you feeling just the slightest bit haunted, suggesting a beautifully enchanting aftertaste.
From there, the album moves on to “True Love”, a song that makes me want to dance around in the darkness in a silk nightdress with my hair in curlers and some sloppily-applied chapstick. It’s a beautiful serenade that leaves the taste of sparkling grape juice in my mouth and results in my physical self stepping outside into the night and craving to stargaze, to discover new constellations, and to find myself. Now it’s “Midnight” and you’re back in the woods, in the deep dark depths of the forest, and more mythical and mystical creatures creep out of hiding as the song goes on. It is darker than the rest of the songs, but likewise it is as light as feather down,rough like sandpaper, yet as soft as duvet covers. The first few chords of “Another’s Arms” literally send you into the arms of an angel: it is compelling and features a soft operatic voice full of mystery. The raw guitar of “Oceans” beckons your name and guides you back to the camp with ease, all the while running notes down your spine and murmuring the lyrics in your ear to numb the pain and introduce your senses to the feeling of wistfulness. The next track, “A Sky Full of Stars”, is the beginning of a bittersweet goodbye; it is powerful in a different sense of the word. It leaves you feeling powerless at the end because you allow your entire being to become one with the song and you feel the full force of the words and the beat. Traces of a tangy taste are all that is left, besides a sweet melody, sweeter memories, and a slight feeling of bliss. “O” is the title of the final track, and it rotates in a perfectly full circle to match the debut track: it is serene, and a piano is offered to you as an ultimate farewell as you find yourself in the kitchen, dancing once again in the middle of the night in your pajamas. Coldplay’s Ghost Stories tells a story, as any great album should, and even leaves you feeling just the slightest bit haunted, suggesting a beautifully enchanting aftertaste.
Ever since my pre-adolescent ears perceived the first notes of “Viva la Vida”, I have found myself more and more enveloped in and obsessed with their music. As cliche as it sounds, the band’s lyrics speak to me; the words wrap around me, around my head, and my subconscious plays the verses on repeat. I’ve joined the ranks of millions of teenagers across the world: the renowned lyrics of “Yellow” creep into my dreams and soothe my thoughts like a cradlesong: “Look at the stars, look how they shine for you.” I find myself fascinated by the words of each tune. I am swept up in every melody; I just want to let loose all of my emotions and run free. It’s adventure music, but it makes you want to stay home; it’s for the clinically senseless and the diagnostically sane; it makes you want to sing along at the top of your lungs, but also breathe the words softly into the ears of a small, sleeping child; it is Coldplay, and it is magic.
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