Coldplay Premiere Surprising New Song “Midnight”: Watch The Video

Viva La Vida was Coldplay‘s “experimental” album, and while ambitious and occasionally quirky, it still stuck to a strictly Coldplay brand of grandiose arena rock. But on new song “Midnight,” we’re now hearing what a truly experimental Coldplay product sounds like. The first thing to jump out is the vocals: When did Chris Martin‘s voice get soulful? When did he learn to use the vocoder? Soon enough, the entirety of the song shows itself to be a departure from their usual blueprint.

It’s a haunting electronic soundscape that not only lacks the band’s trademark anthemic choruses and stadium-filling guitar lines, but boasts nary a hook and has few decipherable lyrics. Not to mention there’s a full-on trance bridge. No word yet on whether this cut is from their forthcoming album, but it’s certainly a bold offering. (And it’ll be interesting to see if they’re applauded for evolving their sound, or if they’ll be accused of ripping off acts like Bon Iver and Imogen Heap.)

Check out the video up top.

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