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Your Listening Pleasure

Because everybody loves new music from Coldplay and Death Cab for Cutie.

Once a band has reached a certain level of critical acclaim and commercial success over the course of several albums, it's often times hard for the very same band to replicate the magic formula that made their success possible in the first place – just ask Rivers Cuomo of Weezer or any "classic rock" band still making records. This edition of Your Listening Pleasure takes a look at two bands who roughly fit into this criteria, in an effort to analyze whether each band continues to shine, or, as the old adage goes, "their old stuff was better."

 
 
Coldplay – Violet Hill - Coldplay is arguably the most famous band being written about in this column, and arguably will sell millions of copies of their new album regardless of its actual quality. Often times, their best songs are piano driven, and "Violet Hill" is no exception. The song starts out with piano and is fleshed out further by drums, bass, electric guitar and vocals. While the chorus is compelling, the verse is a bit repetitive and dour. However, while it doesn't entirely match the quality of some of their earlier work, "Violet Hill" is an overall enjoyable dose of melancholy and darkness.
 
Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends will be out on June 12th on Capitol.
 
 
Death Cab For Cutie – Your New Twin Sized Bed - Death Cab For Cutie's melancholy, introspective, but instantly recognizable sound has defined the quartet for over a decade. However, "Your New Twin Sized Bed" signifies a slight deviation from the course previous charted by the group. Here, the band plays a straightforward, mid-tempo song, using the imagery of discarded and purchased mattresses as a metaphor for breaking up. While the tune probably won't convert any haters, Death Cab For Cutie still manages to strike the position every widely-adored band wishes to be in: sounding similar enough to their older work to be acceptable to most of their fans, while, at the same time, not coming off as reptitive and out of ideas.
 
Narrow Stairs is out now on Atlantic.

 
Coldplay – Violet Hill

Death Cab For Cutie – Your New Twin Sized Bed

Posted by Jason Prechtel on May 19, 2008 @ 12:00 am