Coldplay
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
This is Coldplay dabbling with a grander sound. Less intimate without losing warmth. Everything feels bigger here, in a way that reminds me of Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations. Instruments sweep through the tracks to support bold, self-assured vocals. Viva La Vida is a fun little album with a spring in its step; a leisurely joy to lay back and soak in.
The Herbaliser
Same As It Never Was
The Herbaliser returns focused on big instrumentation, mixing hip-hop and sampling stylings with old-school funk. These guys have no qualms about laying on the horns in a major way. “Amores Bongo” is absolutely infectious tune that harkens back to ’70s swingers culture. The entire album is drenched in nostalgia, and I’m not about to complain.
Tricky
Knowle West Boy
Some tracks, like “Past Mistake”, maintain the trip-hop stylings of his work with Massive Attack and early solo recordings, but that’s no longer the entire focus. Rather, Tricky’s first album since 2003 is often bouncing between seductive blues to rough rap-rock. Of course, it’d be somewhat silly to attempt to best Maxinquaye, so this artist’s continued experimentation is welcome. Unsurprisingly, but much appreciated, he continues to work with strong female vocalists.
UNKLE
End Titles… Stories For Film
This is basically the second follow-up to War Stories after More Stories. The same stylings are found here, along with many of the same collaborators. None of that is bad, but as James Lavelle has repeatedly pointed out, this is not UNKLE’s fourth LP. You won’t find the inevitable reinvention that has come with each new major release. If you liked War Stories, you’ll like what’s here, but don’t look for it to yield any revelations.
