Coldplay’s latest offering, Adventure of a Lifetime, is so far from living up to its title that I nearly giggled. Perhaps I would’ve, if it wasn’t so damn saddening that the creators of fresh, honest and layered work such as Parachutes, A Rush of Blood to the Head and X&Y have watered down their style to this extent. Not even Chris Martin’s soothingly masculine vocals can save Adventure of a Lifetime from ruin.
While “Everglow” offers us glimpses into the head that created songs such as “Clocks”, “Trouble” and “Politik”, the rest of the album resembles everything else you hear on the radio. Adventure of a Lifetime not only terrible in comparison to Coldplay’s earlier work, but it fails to be what it is trying to be. “True Love” even features an uncomfortably dissonant electric guitar riff. The album is doused with a liberal pouring of “ooh’s” and “ah’s” suggesting that the lyricist has simply run out of meaningful things to say. “Hymn for the Weekend” goes as far as to offer listeners the refrain, “feeling so drunk and high” which is repeated far too many times. Alongside this attempt to remain relevant by artlessly comparing feelings of love to being under the influence of substances, Coldplay features popular vocalists Beyonc and Tove Lo on two tracks on the album.
While it is commendable for a band to adapt their sound over time, it is only a valuable trait when that sound grows in depth and not only cultural relevance. Because this is far from a flattering post, I would like to bring my criticism to a close. This is a mediocre album, there is no point in labouring the point. However, Coldplay has shown us in their abovementioned albums, X&Y, A Rush of Blood to the Head and in their debut album, Parachutes, that they are capable of much, much more both lyrically and musically.
