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Posted: 2015-12-02 06:36:00

Colour runners ... Coldplay are about to drop the pappiest album of their career.

ONLY Coldplay could get Blue Ivy, Noel Gallagher, Barack Obama and Brian Eno on the same album.

A Head Full of Dreams is likely to be the most controversial Coldplay album — for their seventh release they’ve made the unexpected decision to work with Stargate, the Norwegian production team behind Beyonce’s Irreplaceable, Katy Perry’s Firework and most of Ne-Yo and Rihanna’s best work.

You don’t go to Stargate to make your jazz odyssey album, this is Coldplay Go Pop. Although Rik Simpson who’s produced their last three album is on board as well. It’s a more the merrier type album.

New tunes ... the cover for Coldplay’s new album A Head Full Of Dreams. Picture: Supplied

New tunes ... the cover for Coldplay’s new album A Head Full Of Dreams. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied

Thankfully as far as artists working with A-list pop producers it’s more Taylor Swift on 1989 than the last Maroon 5 record; they don’t need to do this, they’re just keeping it interesting for themselves.

And that guest list — Moses Martin plays tambourine, his mother Gwyneth Paltrow sings, Noel Gallagher’s on guitar, Beyonce drops some vocals and everyone from Dave Grohl to Calvin Harris get mystery thank you’s. But what does it sound like?

Party time: Chris Martin’s ex wife and new girlfriend sing on the new Coldplay album (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

Party time: Chris Martin’s ex wife and new girlfriend sing on the new Coldplay album (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)Source:AP

A Head Full Of Dreams

Welcome to the party. Within seconds it’s clear the glum vibe of last year’s divorce album Ghost Stories is not welcome here. The only thing you’ll be consciously uncoupled from here are your feet as Coldplay whip up a dancefloor-friendly mixture of 1985 U2 with some Daft Punk disco grooves and Stargate’s crisp production. They’ve done this before (and arguably better on Every Teardrop is a Waterfall) but this will be a perfect opener to get a stadium on their feet and make Chris Martin work up a sweat.

Interesting points: you can hear ‘The Choir’ in the background which includes Blue Ivy, Moses and Apple Martin and all the Coldplay kids as well as iconic producer Brian Eno. Bless.

Birds

This instantly balances any fears from Parachutes fans it’s going to be wall to wall Coldplay Do Bangers. Stargate are great at adding space to songs, which lets Jonny Buckland get close to the Edge again on guitar and creates real intimacy in the verses.

Interesting points: there’s some twangy country/blues guitar work in the mix at the end.

Hymn For the Weekend

In which Beyonce sings, Avicii program some electronics and Chris Martin sings “now I’m feeling drunk and high, so high, so high” several times. OK, now it’s a party. Bey’s vocals pop up at the start (she provides her own backing vocals, like a one woman Destiny’s Child) and in the chorus (actually, all the way through) but this is not a duet, sadly. It is unexpectedly poppy, and radio likes nothing more than party songs about multi-millionaires being drunk and high in the chorus. If you liked Coldplay’s Rihanna collaboration Princess of China, you’ll like this. If you liked your Coldplay in stadium rock mode, maybe not so much.

Interesting points: there’s what sounds like one of the Coldplay kids banging on bottles as percussion in the verses.

Everglow

Gwyneth Paltrow alert. Lady Goop sings (a bit) on this track, mainly because it seems to be all about her and Chris Martin having the world’s most amicable divorce. She provides strategic backing vocals when he sings “we swore on that night we’d be friends ‘til we died” and he seems to call her everything from a goddess to a diamond and “celestial.” As ballads go, it’s lovely and all but certainly not up with their finest work. It ends with Martin singing “So if you love someone you should let them know, the light you left me will everglow.”

Listen to it here.

Interesting points: if you weren’t told it was Paltrow on occasional vocals you probably wouldn’t know it was her.

Bey`n’Blue also sing (separately).

Bey`n’Blue also sing (separately).Source:Supplied

Gwyneth`n’Apple sing (separately).

Gwyneth`n’Apple sing (separately).Source:Supplied

Adventure of a Lifetime

Ideal first single — if you don’t like Coldplay in this groove, chances are this is not the Coldplay album for you. There’s so much to like about this single — the carefree feeling, the tune that floats somewhere between Bob Marley and Daft Punk, the fact that it doesn’t sound anything like a band on their seventh album merely going through the motions. They sound excited to be doing something new. An a-list band taking risks like this is always to applauded. Plus this album is going to drop post Adele, so if it doesn’t make No. 1 the Adele factor can be cited.

Interesting points: one of several references to diamonds on this album.

Fun

Lots of Scandivian input here. Stargate are from Norway (as are one of Coldplay’s favourite bands a-ha — their bassist Guy Berryman made a record with a-ha’s Magne Furuholmen) and Swedish singer Tove Lo sings along with Chris Martin here. It would have probably have worked as a Gotye/Kimbra style breakup duet, but hey. This is a real meet in the middle moment — Stargate provide some electronic heartbeats and noodling over some traditional Coldplay mid-tempo work. It has a lovely Cure-style darkness towards the end.

Interesting point: this recycles a lyrical idea Martin wrote for Natalie Imbruglia on her Come to Life album, also called Fun — a break up song looking back on the fun times not the bitterness. This new Fun and Nat’s Fun are totally different songs, just written by the same people. Kapiche?

Kaleidoscope

Short interlude with the most powerful guest (depending on your view of Beyonce that is).

Interesting point: this is where President Obama comes in, they’ve altered his voice reading from Amazing Grace.

Army of One

More electronic trickery — something they’ve dabbled with before via Brian Eno and Jon Hopkins, but that was more experimental. Stargate wash this in pop harmonies, but it still sounds like an album track. Chris Martin’s vocals sound pretty impressive in the chorus though as he sings “my heart is my gun, army of one”

Interesting point: there’s a cut up vocal sample running throughout, similar to what Skrillex did on Bieber’s Where Are U Now.

Obama provides presidential vocals.

Obama provides presidential vocals.Source:Getty Images

Noel Gallagher provides presidential guitar.

Noel Gallagher provides presidential guitar.Source:Supplied

X Marks The Spot

This track isn’t listed, but plays instantly after Army of One ends. Coldplay have often buried songs into others (try most of the Viva La Vida album) but they’ve never made such a straight-up R & B track with blunted beats. This sounds like a song Chris Martin and Stargate wrote for Rihanna but decided to keep for themselves. Maybe that’s why it isn’t listed — even on iTunes Army of One goes for six minutes, half of those are X Marks the Spot. Some people are going to hate this. Those people should listen to the Avicii/Chris Martin collaboration True Believer. Sheesh!

Interesting point: Chris Martin singing about his heart going “ boom-boom boom-boom boom-boom.”

Amazing Day

Anyone Jonesing for a Yellow or Fix You moment will gravitate towards this, it sounds like the ‘most’ Coldplay of old, if you will. Lots of piano, lots of emotion but — spoiler — this is no Fix You or Yellow.

Interesting points: some high notes from Mr Martin before he asks “can the birds in poetry chime?”

Colour Spectrum

Another interlude. Take this and Kaliedoscope out and it’s just nine tracks, ten if you factor in X Marks the Spot.

Interesting points: it’s one minute long and features producer Daniel Green, upgraded from working on the sound during their concerts.

So Annabelle Wallis can also sing.

So Annabelle Wallis can also sing.Source:Getty Images

Swedish singer Tove-Lo has Fun.

Swedish singer Tove-Lo has Fun.Source:Getty Images

Up and Up

Feel-good finale — it’s almost redundant to point out the guitars sound like vintage U2 by now, but they do. The vocal choir seem to be back, and Chris Martin asks “how come people suffer, how come people part, how come people struggle, how come people break your heart?’ The whole thing goes for just under seven minutes and has a bit of a Primal Scream/Screamadelica mood. Guest musicians are Noel Gallagher on guitar (he was clearly asked to drop a bit of Champagne Supernova on the track, and obliges), Beyonce on vocals and Moses Martin on tambourine. For real.

Interesting points: Annabelle Wallis also provides vocals — she’s reportedly Martin’s new lady friend. That’s a lovely full circle moment. He ends the song, and the album, stating “don’t ever give up.”

A Head Full of Dreams (Warner/Parlophone) is out on Friday.

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