For a long time Coldplay seemed determined to live up to Alan McGee’s snide “bedwetters' music” jibe, making a succession of albums that affirmed their reputation as the go-to guys for tear-stained indie-rock introspection. On occasion they’ve flirted with change, but really it has been little more than a subtle batting of the eyelids, gestures that would go unnoticed by all but the most attentive of observers.
This year’s Brian Eno-helmed Viva La Vida contained a few notable quirks but it was nothing more than a subtle shift in the modus operandi. How startling then to hear the Prospekt’s March EP. Combining everything from blustering rock riffs and crackling synths to Indian tablas and even a cameo performance from a hip-hop icon, this release hints at a hitherto concealed sense of adventure. Easing us in with a lyrics-supplemented version of ‘Life In Technicolor ii’ and the piano interlude of ‘Postcards From Far Away’, Coldplay then proceed to blast our expectations to smithereens with the Muse-style bombast of ‘Glass Of Water’.
‘Rainy Day’ pinballs between stylistic forms, beats and guitars clattering into a strings-swathed chorus. Things become more recognisably Coldplay with the assured balladry of the title-track. Elsewhere Jay-Z adds an extra dimension to ‘Lost’ and ‘Lovers In Japan’ is refined a touch with the ‘Osaka Sun Mix’. With brass and Eastern embellishments, ‘Feet Won’t Touch My Ground’ brings a last chameleonic change. An intriguing and eminently listenable offering, only time will tell whether the Prospekt’s March EP indicates the band Coldplay could have been or might yet become.