After the expansive world tour in support of A Head Full of Dreams (2015) no one could blame Coldplay for taking some time off to regroup, reevaluate things and recuperate. This period of “hibernation” (as the band called it in typed notes recently mailed to fans) seemed to be a fruitful one with the band announcing through classified ads in newspapers around the world the arrival of a new double-album entitled Everyday Life (due to arrive November 22nd), complete with the track listing this past Wednesday. Yesterday, they dropped two songs off the album—“Orphans” and “Arabesque”—and this morning released the video in support of “Orphans.”
So what do the new tracks sound like?
“Orphans” picks up where many a track from Dreams left off. It’s an instantly catchy, classic Coldplay track trussed up on an addictive Berryman bass run and soaring Buckland guitar licks. The song feels purpose built for another trek around the globe where sold out stadiums will dazzle in vibrant lights as the crowd joins in with the sing-a-long “Wooo Hooos.” Chris Martin is once more at home behind the mic narrating the feeling of escaping the troubles of the world—both big and small—by finding solace and solidarity in the comforting arms of friends. As he sings “I wanna know when I can go / back and feel home again,” you assume for fans the world over this familiar sounding Coldplay tune will deliver on that question. It’s a welcome return.
If “Orphans” is the familiar and uplifting tune we have come to expect from Coldplay, “Arabesque” is the flipside. Centered around a jangling guitar line and Afrobeat tinged groove, Martin sings of the commonality between us all in spite of a world shouting and stoking our differences. But this isn’t all Kumbaya. Instead the song is a murky parade of swirling sax (courtesy of Femi Kuti) and bubbling tension. It’s a delicate balance between the unity in the lyrics and the despair and quiet paranoia of the music. The final build in the coda is powerful in that it ratchets up the tension without offering a hopeful relief. And then it’s done.
These two tracks perhaps best represent the tonality of the album and its dual Sunrise and Sunset chapters. It gives us hope in the familiar and the promise of something deeper. What will come time will tell, but if these two tracks are indicative of the shape and sound of the album, it will be another enjoyable and emotive outing from the lads from London.
LISTEN & WATCH: