ASG! Reviews: Prospekt's March

You may remember way back when I reviewed Coldplay’s Viva La Vida. Now, the band has come out with an EP record of leftovers from their last album titled Prospekt’s March.

Whether or not you will enjoy this album can basically be summed up like this: Did you like Viva La Vida? If you did, you’ll find that Prospekt’s March offers a little more of the same style that in some ways satisfies more than the album did.

If you didn’t like Viva La Vida, you’re probably not a fan of the new sound Coldplay experimented with in that album. Don’t expect anything different here. The songs still have the same feel as those on Viva La Vida. Three of them are taken directly from that album and reworked, some more than others. If you’re expecting something entirely different, you’re sure to be disappointed.

But if you’re like me, and are curious what Coldplay left on the cutting room floor (like a rap..?), read on!

The EP opens with “Life in Technicolour II,” a reworking of the original opening track off Viva La Vida. The new song adds lyrics that felt missing from the original song and fleshes out a full-fledged song out of an instrumental interlude. What’s left is infinitely better than the original, more song than an experiment like the original was.

“Postcards from Far Away” on the other hand, is pure experimentation. The short (48 seconds) track features only a piano, twinkling away at something that sounds more Chopin than Coldplay. The swaying piano piece sounds reminiscent of a foreign artsy film, and shows Chris Martin is a very talented pianist. One expects to hear the orchestra roar in at any moment, but the piano remains the only instrument. The track is beautiful, but altogether too short. Just as Martin began to explore some beautiful new notes, the song resolves leaving me wishing Martin had kept playing.

“Glass of Water” jumps in immediately afterward and is by far the best song on the EP. The track begins at a nice upbeat clip and the guitars strum and piano bang away as the vocals echo overhead. Eventually the chorus arrives and the song bursts into a satisfying good-old-fashioned Coldplay explosion of sound. The song is infinitely catchy, doesn’t run a second too long, and shows off the best of Coldplay. The only downside is it wasn’t included on Viva La Vida. The song alone practically makes the EP worth buying.

“Rainy Day” is a little bit of a different animal. The track focuses on modern beats that would seem to better fit a dance mix. When the full song starts, it starts to sound a little bit more like something off Viva La Vida, especially when the orchestra jumps onto the scene for the chorus. After a few listens, this track grew on me, but I think overall it is pretty hit or miss.

“Prospekt’s March” is a melancholy return to Coldplay’s old sound that would have belonged on an earlier album. The track lets Martin run with the lyrics, but there’s not too much more to it. It’s songs like these that Coldplay put behind them with their newest album, and I’m glad they avoided falling back into this mold.

“Lost+” is really what the title says: the track “Lost” off of Viva La Vida, plus a little something extra. What’s extra, you ask? Jay-Z. That’s right, the rapper. Instead of a guitar solo in the second chorus, Jay-Z gets to lay down some phat rhymes.I think we’re all lucky that mix there didn’t rip a hole in space time. Oddly enough, it’s not bad. It doesn’t entirely work, but that’s what happens when you add rap to Coldplay. I can’t really decide what to think of it…I mean, it works in a sense…I’m just still a little bit in shock that Jay-Z just rapped to Coldplay.

“Lovers in Japan (Osaka Sun Mix)” however is a different animal. Looking for anything extra? A dance mix? Maybe more of Jay-Z? Too bad! Instead you get the same song recycled off the original track, with the second half “Reign of Love” cut. A mix? I don’t think so. Nothing to see here, move along people.

Which brings us to the last track “Now My Feet Won’t Touch the Ground,” and let me say that Coldplay must have had some sort of fascination with the titular line. It was already included in the chorus of “Life in Technicolour II.” By the time I heard it again, I was sick of it. The track starts off as a beautiful acoustic and the lyrics in the first verse suggest the song may be something special. But the chorus just repeats on the same line over and over again, never letting the beautiful melody of the verse come back into play.

Overall, I like Prospekt’s March. It was a nice little add-on to an album I really enjoyed. So if you enjoyed Viva La Vida, Prospekt’s March is definitely worth a shot, if only for the more satisfying rendition of ‘Life in Technicolour’. Even if you didn’t like Viva La Vida, at least give “Glass of Water” a shot.