Parachutes
By: John Schietinger - ModernRock.com
July 16th 2001
Over the past few years, a number of young guitar-based bands heavily influenced by rock behemoths Radiohead have leaked out of art schools and universities across the United Kingdom, clutching a copy of The Bends in one hand, a six string in the other, and some tale of heartbreaking love in their heart. Travis, Kent, and Muse, among others, are all members of this primarily boring and derivative "movement." These bands present nothing new creatively on their records, and it merely seems that they are trying to capitalize on the massive success of Radiohead, Britain's current favourite sons. From what I had heard about Coldplay prior to listening to their debut album Parachutes, I assumed they would also be just another post-Radiohead knock-off, devoid of any remotely intriguing characteristics.
Surprisingly, I was wrong. Four friends in their early twenties, graduates of University College in London, and notorious for actually being nice and polite fellows in the often arrogant British music scene, Coldplay are definitely for real, and Parachutes is an exceptionally confident and intelligent debut album. Though hardly revolutionary, Coldplay possess a seemingly natural ability to craft the richly mellifluent melodies that abound on Parachutes. It does not hurt that their lead singer and lyricist, Chris Martin, is an amazingly talented songwriter and, in the same vein as The Verve's Richard Ashcroft and Shack's Michael Head, is unafraid of articulating his most personal and difficult emotions with honesty and sincerity. His unmistakably powerful yet lovely voice, which resides somewhere between the high croons of Thom Yorke and Jeff Buckley, emotively and fearlessly delves into the tragedies and anguishes of his love life throughout Parachutes, from unanswered love ("I look in your direction/But you pay me no attention") to promises of continued self-sacrifice for a lost lover ("For you I bleed myself dry").
The album starts with "Don't Panic," in which spacey delay-laden guitar effects ride effortlessly above a bouncy acoustic riff that is underscored by the tight groove of the rhythm section. Lyrically, Martin sets the mood for the rest of Parachutes with the lines: "Bones sinking like stones/All that we've fought for/Homes places we've grown/All of us are done for/And we live in a beautiful world." This dichotomy of bitter sweetness is the crux of Parachutes: though the pain of unrequited love and heartbreak that Martin discusses is undeniable, he also realizes that these songs, formulations of strong feelings, can act to "lessen the fall" like a parachute, lending a clear sense of optimism throughout. The album ends optimistically too with "Everything's Not Lost" and a brief hidden track. The hopefulness of the title "Everything's Not Lost" parallels the song's rapturous climax, with Martin's multi-tracked vocals pleading "Come on yeah/Sing out yeah/Everything's not lost." This cathartic finale is gorgeously preceded by the deliberate build up of vivacious organic drum beats, fluid bass lines, resounding piano bits, and the insistent repetition of stratospheric guitar reels that amounts to a proper synopsis of Coldplay's unique sound explored on Parachutes. The inconspicuous hidden track expresses a similar conviction to "Everything's Not Lost," peppered with Martin's simple adages like "Life is for living," while backed instrumentally by a harmonious mellow drift of accordion and acoustic guitar.
The two finest songs on Parachutes are also the two tracks released as singles, "Shiver" and "Yellow." "Shiver" renders a shimmering multi-textured hook; it is that rare song where the verses sinuously fuse with the chorus, resulting in a lush melody, layered and chiseled to perfection. Martin's yearning is painfully clear on "Shiver," as he agonizingly utters, "From the moment I wake/To the moment I sleep/I'll be there by your side/Just try and stop me"; this near threatening quality is enhanced by the song's pulverizing loud-soft guitar dynamics. "Yellow," certainly one of the best singles of 2000, majestically conjures a passionate autumnal feeling: brisk, invigorating, tender, sumptuous, bursting with so many beautiful colors, but still somewhat melancholy and heartrending. Martin steps outside of the songwriting process to write this song about writing a song called "Yellow," all while observing the splendor of his surroundings with a slight sense of longing and loss, especially for his lover: "Just skin/Yeah you're skin and bones/Turned into something beautiful/You know I love you so." A perfect song, "Yellow" is a lovelorn anthem and the centerpiece of Parachutes, and yes, it was a huge hit in England.
In spite of such achievements, Coldplay tend to meander on a few tracks by plunging into musical ideas that are a little too mellow or too similar to another song. "High Speed," marked by a guitar part suspiciously akin to The Verve's "Gravity Grave," "Sparks," an uneventful rewrite of Radiohead's "Nice Dream," and "We Never Change," simply an aimless song, are the low points of Parachutes, even though they are still listenable to an extent and fit within the context of the album as a whole. These minor drawbacks do not take away much from the overall effect of Parachutes, and Martin's vocals and lyrics are brilliant from start to finish. Parachutes is an addictive album whose plentiful hooks reward on every listen. Coldplay clearly are not interested in just being famous, getting rich, or whining: they have something honest and substantial to say and contribute unlike many of their peers. A band to watch in coming years, Coldplay succeed admirably with Parachutes, an ultimately hopeful record delivered with remarkable maturity and consistency from four extremely talented young men.
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