The British Papers Rush To Start The Coldplay Backlash

From time to time, we like to round up the all-important, all-summarizing last sentences of the biggest new-music reviews. Today’s special edition of the Last Word features the immediate British press reaction to the new Coldplay, Vida La Vida,which leaked Wednesday night and is out June 17:

• “I can imagine Chris pulling at his hair as the band perfected every single second of Viva La Vida. They set out to make a musical equivalent of a work of art–and succeeded. They’ve come a long way since singing about the colour yellow.” [The Sun]

• “But for those who are prepared to take Coldplay at face value, to presume unless there is evidence to the contrary that this an honest collection of songs from a band doing what they know best, Viva La Vida is a bright, warm, rich and strikingly memorable album.” [The Telegraph]

• “At its best, however, Viva la Vida poses an interesting question: do you need to be cool or experimental if you can write songs that carry the listener along regardless of their reservations–indeed, almost despite them?” [The Guardian]

• “The purported passing of their former style, however, has been greatly exaggerated, though whether the attempt here to chart a new musical course will lead anywhere as imposing remains to be heard. This is pretty average stuff.” [The Independent]