By Gracie Blackwell
Staff Writer
@graciebwell

A year and a half has passed since the release of “Ghost Stories” and Coldplay is back with its seventh, and potentially last, album “A Head Full of Dreams.” Recently it has been announced that Coldplay will be headlining next year’s Super Bowl 50 halftime show coincidentally the same time the album released.

The band decided it was time for a much different approach compared to their previous albums. Artists featured on this album range from Beyoncé to Tove Lo. Famous public figures such as President Barack Obama and actress Gwyneth Paltrow are also featured on “A Head Full of Dreams.”

The LP starts off with the song named after the album, “A Head Full of Dreams.” Chris Martin, lead singer of the British pop-rock band, first sings the lyrics, “Oh, I think I’ve landed in a world I hadn’t seen,” it creates a new sense of place for listeners. Using drums and various guitar riffs, “A Head Full of Dreams” sets the tone of the rest of the album. Martin sounds joyful, conveying that happiness throughout the entire song.

“Birds” begins with a tympany-sounding drum mixed with piano. The mellow-sounding tone of Martin’s voice unexpectedly complements this upbeat track. As the song ends, it transitions into, “Hymn for the Weekend (feat. Beyoncé)” with bird sounds. Beyoncé sings the lyric, “Then we’ll shoot across the sky symphony,” repeating all throughout the song. This upbeat collaboration is a standout among the other tracks because of its ability for anyone to like it.

Paltrow’s backing vocals on “Everglow” are faintly heard with Martin’s vocals overpowering hers. Although Paltrow, actress and ex-wife of Martin, only sings two lines in the song, they are long-lasting and important, reflecting on their past relationship. Martin’s voice mixed with the piano, sounds sultry and sad. “Everglow” reminds me of songs on its previous albums.

Next is “Adventure of a Lifetime,” which was released as the first single off of “A Head Full of Dreams”. The song recollects an 80s sounding disco-electronic style. Rolling Stone Magazine recently ranked “Adventure of a Lifetime” at No. 41 on its list of the 50 best songs of 2015. Of the entire album, this song stands out the most. It starts with a high-pitched guitar riff setting the stage for the rest of the song. The background music makes the song sound like it could belong to Passion Pit, using electronic and synthpop sounding influences.

Another collaboration song, “Fun”, features indie pop singer Tove Lo. The song tells the story of a relationship and what could have been. Tove Lo and Martin both sing, “Just you and me, you and me, we were always meant to, always meant to,” representing the overall message of the song.

“Kaleidoscope” is only two minutes long, featuring a sample of Obama singing “Amazing Grace” at the funeral of Clementa C. Pickney, a victim of the Charleston, S.C. church shooting. Martin previously said he wanted it to be in the album because of “The historical significance and that song being about, ‘I’m lost but now I’m found.’”

With bits of electronic beats at the beginning of “Army of One”, Martin begins the song by singing the lyrics, “Been around the world, wonders to view been around the world, looking for someone like you” conveying the meaning of the song that ‘there is no one like you.’

“Amazing Day” is one of the slower tempo songs off the album reminiscing a past relationship of an “amazing day”. Its soft sounding mellow tone creates a sense of nostalgia to one’s inner mind. In this one minute song, “Colour Spectrum” combines multiple instruments to make one uniform melody and compliments the album’s cover. Using no lyrics, the short track perfectly transitions into the next song and exactly sounds like what a ‘colour spectrum’ would sound like.

Martin’s signature sultry-sounding voice ended the album with the upbeat song “Up&Up”. The repetition of “we’re gonna get it get it together right now” echoes throughout the song along with “don’t ever give up” making it the perfect ending to the album conveying the message of keeping on going despite what obstacles may come in one’s way.
You can purchase the album in stores or on iTunes, for $9.99.