Coldplay
Ghost Stories

Finally, Coldplay has decided to leave behind the embarrassing sounds of Mylo Xyloto as they try to evolve, resuming a path that I believe they abandoned already after the release of X & Y (2005).

Continuing to live off their past successes, as was suspected, seems to be a goal that is gradually fading from the band's mind;

we are still far from the times of Parachutes (2000), an absolute masterpiece, and A Rush of Blood (2002), which established the band in the alternative rock scene, destined to become over time a mass phenomenon.

The album was preceded by 3 singles, from February to today, that have had immediate success(?) [apparently so it seems]: the dreamy Midnight, the romantic Magic, and the hit A Sky Full of Stars.

With Ghost Stories, we are faced with an electro-pop work where Chris Martin's voice seems to come from another dimension.

The ones speaking are precisely the frontman's ghosts, forced to confront a problematic situation that he then decided to narrate in music, exposing himself in a courageous manner according to the other band members.

The tracks are almost whispered in our ears; they transmit an incredible calmness, and the presence of many and long instrumental interludes shows the spirit with which the entire album was conceived.

Ghost Stories is a concept. Not quite like the old '70s prog records, it's a concept adapted to modernity.

As stated by Martin himself, it revolves around two themes: the idea of past actions (and the consequent effects that can influence the future), and one's own capacity to love.

It could be that the crisis with his wife influenced him; it could be that he vented his frustration through music, as we find a band that returns to talking about love. And they do it in an overly sentimental way. Romance is present from the first to the last track; it's evident, it's in the chords, you feel it in the air when you press play.

If the first track you come across is called Always In My Head, well... you understand that it's pure autobiography!

With Magic, Coldplay wants to embark on new paths, a minimal base with much attention to vocals which also dominates tracks like Ink and Another's Arms, in my opinion, one of the most interesting tracks on the album.

There are dubstep inserts accompanied by typical melodies in full Viva La Vida style, which we have learned to recognize, in True Love.

Still on the trail of a more pronounced and sophisticated electronic sound comes Midnight, where the hand of producer Jon Hopkins, a cornerstone of the entire album, torments us and leads us towards unprecedented sound worlds, a track that has puzzled even the most die-hard fan, especially the most devoted one, of the band. Immense.

Oceans is an interesting track, made of ethereal grace that leaves us astonished; moreover, there is a sort of "reprise" of Midnight at the end here, which, in reality, we discover to be an intro to the subsequent A Sky Full of Stars, a track destined to become the hit of the summer.

As we approach the end, the atmosphere becomes increasingly dreamlike; in fact, with O we find only Martin's voice accompanied by the inevitable piano.

Unfortunately, the comparison with Radiohead is inevitable, a band that has already experimented with this type of intimate vision of music, succeeding, in my opinion, better than Coldplay.

And indeed, we are talking about a purely intimate record, one that does good to people, one that perhaps the average listener will find hard to digest, one that leaves an emptiness inside you that at times becomes haunting, yet pleasant, one that you listen to for the first time, and you feel compelled to talk about it (see ME).