Coldplay

It seems the small venue couldn't meet the huge demand for tickets to

Coldplay's album launch instore at the Oxford Circus HMV. The band and staff

seemed genuinely surprised at the massive turnout, as fans were being

turned away at the doors. Perhaps this shows how quickly Coldplay have

risen from being just another small indie band, to a single Yellow at

number 4, and their album Parachutes looking set to climb the charts rapidly

after it's launch this monday. The band had a very genuine, friendly air

on the night, playing an old single demanded by fans and staying behind

to sign albums long after the gig. They appeared pleasantly surprised

at their recent success.

So musically, is all the hype justified? I went with the slight

misconception

that Coldplay would turn out to be another Travis, peddling watered-down

samey minor-chord whinings to a surprisingly large army of teenybopper

fans. While they did acknoledge the comparison, their material drifted

into this territory only rarely. Overall I think they had a raw power

and unpretentious honesty in their songs which transcends the bland

offerings

of the likes of Travis. They weren't afraid to rock out on occasion, and

live the songs had an extra edge to them. Singer Chris manages a raw

emotional

vocal sound without decending into angsty miserablism, demonstrated

perfectly

in the whistful summery sound of single Yellow. I would say they have

a lot of potential, providing they hold onto the raw edge of their

songwriting,

and don't allow success to draw them into the same dead end travis have

reached with "the man who".