Not for the first time in my life, I’ve quite liked the first single off a Coldplay and while I can’t predict the future, I will say this: if the past is anything to go by, they won’t be able to sustain it through an entire album and pretty soon the other shoe will drop and people will be fingering a list of “influences” and pointing a finger at Chris who will be saying, “oh yes, of course it was inspired by…”
But till then, here is “Magic” which sounds like something U2 have been working on, something darkly atmospheric full of drum machines and shades of blue… only a little more melodic and relatively laid back for this sorta stuff. What I am saying is, oh no, it is quite good. The metronome drums keeping time gets a little irritating the third time around and the pace is slow and steady but the song emerges almost immediately.
Not a mainstream move, and not a good choice for a first song when you figure last time round round we got “Every Teardrop Is Like A Waterfall”, “Magic” isn’t bright and sparkly enough for world conquest.
Grade: B-
