Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall (Single Review)
Monday, 13 June 2011
Written by Jonny Rimmer
The extent to which you appreciate the vibrant new Coldplay single can perhaps be gauged by objectivity. The band’s latest tunes, showcased at Rock AM Ring this week, have been received in ‘rapturous’ fashion according to one of their roadies. Meanwhile, you won’t have to search too hard on social networks to find the naysayers: “this one is ripping off so-and-so...”; “they want to be U2...” so on, so forth.
Somewhat predictably then, the truth is that the ironically named ‘Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall’ is somewhere in the middle. Coldplay are far from bland, and whether you loved or hated Viva la Vida (and it’s needlessly long title), you had to admire their willingness to progress as a group. However, whichever way you look at it, this latest single is further proof that although Martin and co certainly don’t lack fear in regards to experimentation, their song writing can leave something to be desired.
Lyrically, there’s some very clumsy stuff here, “Don’t want to see another generation drop/I’d rather be a comma than a full stop” being a particular culprit. The main melodic idea, mainly synth-based, is also a little uninteresting (even grating), but it does give Jonny Buckland a chance to shine with his underrated skills on the guitar. Once Chris Martin’s repetitive vocals disappear into the mix around halfway through, the track begins to pick up momentum, before its frustratingly abrupt finish.
Some bands are well suited to this proclaimed role of ‘stadium kings’; just look at where Muse are. Coldplay are arguably even bigger, having played arenas across the world themselves for a good part of a decade, and there is no doubt that the anthemic nature of this track is very deliberate. ‘Every Teardrop...’ is far too linear to be considered alongside pop classics ‘Yellow’ and the Buckley-esque ‘Shiver’ (I still consider the latter to be their best song). Maybe it would be unfair to say that Coldplay have regressed, especially as this is the poorest of the new songs. But hey, let’s be objective: Coldplay are not the new U2, and they’re certainly not the new Radiohead, but they can definitely do better than this.
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Somewhat predictably then, the truth is that the ironically named ‘Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall’ is somewhere in the middle. Coldplay are far from bland, and whether you loved or hated Viva la Vida (and it’s needlessly long title), you had to admire their willingness to progress as a group. However, whichever way you look at it, this latest single is further proof that although Martin and co certainly don’t lack fear in regards to experimentation, their song writing can leave something to be desired. 
