COLDPLAY
PROSPEKT’S MARCH EP [EMI]

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’ pings pinball like 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.
FRANCIS JONES