It’s hard to tell whether Coldplay is carving their own niche in pop or if they’re just a poor man’s Radiohead. Their latest album isn’t giving clear answers either way.
The one extreme had overly sentimental, by-the-numbers pop ballads. The other sounded so repackaged from Coldplay’s “A Rush of Blood to the Head” that you’d swear you weren’t listening to a new album.
The x-factor for their latest effort, “Viva la Vida,” is ambient pioneer Brian Eno as producer. Eno’s presence is clear in the title track, which is the second single from the new album. Sweeping strings surround Martin’s wandering baritones and falsettos with ease. Just don’t expect any groundbreaking lyrics.
The first single from “Viva la Vida,” isn’t impressive. “Violet Hill” has angsty distortion that feels forced and repetitive. Lyrically speaking, it’s more promising than “Viva la Vida,” but it’s too soon to tell if the other tracks will match up.
If “Viva la Vida or Death” is going to sidestep the pitfalls that trapped “X&Y,” then be prepared to thank Brian Eno before anyone else.
My Brightest Diamond
“A Thousand Shark’s Teeth”
June 17
Asthmatic Kitty Records
She used to be a cheerleader, and now she’s a chamber music prodigy. Shara Worden and her My Brightest Diamond project deserve your attention.
The daughter of a bohemian organist mother and an accordion champion father, Worden started out in the Brooklyn avant-garde rock scene. Her classical training and talent with diverse instruments caught on with one of the brightest stars in indie rock. Sufjan Stevens brought Worden onto his tour as one of the Illinoisemakers, a group of cheerleaders who made a lively addition to his performances. She was even promoted to captain!
Worden created My Brightest Diamond by bringing a cadre of musicians together to accentuate her bittersweet vocals with strings, wind chimes and even wine glasses. The result is beautiful. My Brightest Diamond’s second studio album, “A Thousand Shark’s Teeth” is dreamlike and epic.
“Inside a Boy,” the opening song, evolves from Worden’s baroque lyrics into a climactic explosion of cellos, violins and fierce guitar. Her hushed tones build with the instruments, becoming more and more piercing as she sings, “We are clowns. We are whispers, like fauns and shape-shifters.”
My Brightest Diamond rivals the likes of Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Yndi Halda and The Pirate Ship Quintet in making music that creates its own worlds, filled with landscapes that plunge our thoughts into beautiful and moody places we never knew existed.
N.E.R.D
“Seeing Sounds”
June 10
Virgin Records
No one ever really dies. It’s the philosophy behind the funk-rock-soul group that Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shay Haley have been perfecting since 2001.
Pharrell and Chad (otherwise known as The Neptunes) explain, “People’s energies are made of their souls. When you die, that energy may disperse but it isn’t destroyed.”
One thing’s for sure, N.E.R.D’s eclectic sound isn’t dead. Their latest album, “Seeing Sounds,” was inspired by one of the grooviest neurological disorders around. Believe it or not, there are people who can actually “see” sounds. Whenever they hear a sound, it triggers a color. It’s called synesthesia, and it seems like one hell of a trip.
“If you really analyze that, the most inspiration is probably deep inside a synesthesiac,” Pharrell said. He may be right. It’s a musical experience that most of us go without. N.E.R.D aren’t just deep and talented cats. They can be funny, too.
One track from “Seeing Sounds,” entitled “Everybody Nose” is about chic club girls who go to the bathroom to powder their noses with blow. A catchy line from a standup bass kicks of the track, and it melds into a scratch-and-synth banger with a hilarious breakdown.
N.E.R.D is a high-energy hybrid that won’t be dying anytime soon. In fact, they’re alive and better than ever.
