X&Y is the third studio album by British alternative rock band Coldplay, released 6 June 2005 in the United Kingdom via the record label Parlophone. The album, which features influences of electronic music, was produced by the band and British record producer Danton Supple. Development of the album was often troubled; the album's original producer, British record producer Ken Nelson, was supposed to produce much of the album, however, many songs written during their sessions were ditched due to the band's dissatisfaction. The album's cover art is a combination of colours and blocks, which is a representation of the Baudot code.
X&Y is now available on vinyl.
Review:
After Radiohead stubbornly refused to accept the mantle of
world's biggest and most important rock band by releasing the willfully strange
rocktronica fusion Kid A in 2000, Coldplay stepped up to the plate with their
debut, Parachutes. Tasteful, earnest, introspective, anthemic, and grounded in
guitars, the British quartet was everything Radiohead weren't but what the
public wanted them to be, and benefited from the Oxford quintet's decision to
abandon rock stardom for arcane art rock. Parachutes became a transatlantic hit
and 2002's sequel, A Rush of Blood to the Head, consolidated their success by
being bigger and better than Parachutes, positioning Coldplay to not be just the
new Radiohead, but the new U2: a band that belongs to the world but whose fans
believe that the music is for them alone. To that end, Coldplay's third album,
X&Y – slightly delayed so it follows Rush of Blood by nearly three years,
but that's no longer than the time separating OK Computer and Kid A, or The
Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree – is designed to be the record that
elevates Coldplay to the major leagues, where they are at once the biggest and
most important band in the world. It's deliberate and sleek, cinematic and
pristine, hip enough to sample Kraftwerk and blend in fashionable retro-'80s
post-punk allusions without altering the band's core. Indeed, X&Y is hardly
a bold step forward but rather a consolidation of Coldplay's strengths,
particularly their skill at crafting surging, widescreen epics. But if X&Y
highlights their attributes it also brings Coldplay's weaknesses into sharp
relief. Forget the fact that they, by any stretch of the imagination, do not
rock – rocking is simply against their nature. They are a meditative band,
reflecting on their emotions instead of letting them go in a cathartic blast of
noise and rhythm. This isn't a problem – after all, there have been plenty of
great bands that do not rock & roll – but their terminal politeness does
cripple their music, preventing it from being as majestic as its aspirations.
Coldplay is well scrubbed and well behaved, possessing a textbook education in
classic rock and the good sense to never stretch any farther than needed. They
are the perfect middlebrow rock band – clean, pristine, and rational,
seemingly smart since they never succumb to pounding, primal riffs, but also not
weird enough to be genuine art rock. It's ambitious, yet its ambitions are
modest, not risky, so their ambitions can be fulfilled without breaking a sweat.
And since their sweeping yet subdued theatricality does recall the more majestic
moments of Radiohead and U2, they have won millions of fans, but another crucial
reason that Coldplay have a broad appeal is that lead singer/songwriter Chris
Martin never tackles any large issues, preferring to endlessly examine his
feelings. Like on Parachutes and Rush of Blood, all the songs on X&Y are
ruminations on Martin's doubts, fears, hopes, and loves. His words are earnest
and vague, so listeners can identify with the underlying themes in the songs,
and his plain, everyman voice, sighing as sweet as a schoolboy, is unthreatening
and unassuming, so it's all the easier for listeners to project their own
emotions into the song. But for as impeccable as X&Y is – and, make no
mistake, it's a good record, crisp, professional, and assured, a sonically
satisfying sequel to A Rush of Blood to the Head – it does reveal that
Martin's solipsism is a dead-end, diminishing the stature of the band. Where U2
is big in sound, scope, ambition, and intent, Coldplay is ultimately big music
about small things, and even if X&Y is a strong, accomplished album, its
limited, narcissistic point of view is what prevents the quartet from inheriting
the title of the biggest and most important band in the world.
All Music Guide – Stephen Thomas Erlewine