Blog.WBRU

Last Monday was a pretty big day for music releases. Among others, The Killers, Kanye West, and Ludacris all came out with highly anticipated new albums. However, something managed to slip by my radar that I should have heard about before its existence took me by surprise Monday evening: Coldplay’s EP companion to Viva La Vida, also known as Prospekt’s March.

How on earth Coldplay managed to put out an eight-song EP this quickly since last June was initially beyond me, but then I was told that most of these songs are remnants of the Viva La Vida studio sessions and/or remixes of the songs that actually made it onto the album. While this is in no way less exciting for Coldplay fans, it gives the rest of us a hint as to what we’re in for - a sound that’s a little disjointed, but high quality nonetheless.

It would be completely unfair to judge this EP as one would Viva La Vida, because the former was never meant to be a cohesive album. So, although it’s not epic, Prospekt’s March is still endearing in its own right - it’s the hidden side of Coldplay that doesn’t tour, delighting in its own shadowy secrecy. Definite highlights are “Life in Technicolor ii” (like the original, but with words) and “Glass of Water” (whose stadium guitars would have upset the delicate Zen balance of Viva La Vida). I would stay away from the Jay-Z version of “Lost!”, but overall, it’s a good value for $5.99 on iTunes if you’ve ever wondered what would have happened if Viva La Vida hadn’t stopped at track ten.