Day 0931 - Melody A.M.

Röyksopp "Melody A.M." (2001)

In my mind I had Röyksopp and Sigur Ros as being pretty much the same kind of music... not sure why, maybe it was my mind grouping Western European early 21st century artists together.

Röyksopp is definitely not in that same kind of ambient territory.  It's in the electronic genre but with a lot more prominent melody.  

The first track "So Easy" sounds a bit like Phoenix Foundation's spacier moments, or like a Blur melody with Danger Mouse production.  Pretty sure I've heard track two "Eple" before, it sounds familiar to me with its high blippy synth melody.   There' s a bit of funk in "Röyksopp's Night Out".   Whereas "In Space" is an almost Jean-Michel Jarre-esque synth vibe.

The music is largely instrumental, with vocals used more as an instrument than a focus.   The main exceptions being the laidback "Sparks" and "Remind me", and the peppier "Poor Lenno".

Day 0908 - Parachutes

Coldplay “Parachutes” (2000)

Though the name Coldplay has gone on to be used as a shorthand by some music fans for ‘bland’ and ‘MOR’, I do quite enjoy their first album.    It’s a concise slice of melodic rock and balladry without too many airs and graces.

Reading up on the band’s progression to their first album it does sound as though they were fairly single-minded and ambitious, pressing demos and playing showcases to get the attention of labels from pretty early on.  It also sounds like the labels responded in kind, grooming the band and having someone advise them on their musical direction (which I find a tad distasteful... sort your own shit).

The musical direction they chose is frequently dismissed as being ‘Radiohead-lite’ but again I feel like this is an unfair assessment.   A higher-pitched voice over alt-rock built on acoustic guitar and an electric guitar with some effects doesn’t necessarily = Radiohead.    As a side-note I would say the same for Muse who get tarred with the same brush, yet to my mind their sound owes a much larger debt to Queen than Radiohead.

With Coldplay, the write-up in the book suggests that Jeff Buckley could well have been an influence, and I could certainly agree with that on a song like “Shiver” (one of my personal favourites) which builds to ascending guitar parts and desperate yet somehow unrestrained vocals.

There’s a pleasing amount of variety with the piano ballad “Trouble”, the gentle acoustic interlude of the title track, the pulsing-along pop of “Don’t Panic” and of course the gentle acoustic ballad-turned-wall-of-guitar-squall that is the is the single “Yellow” (never really one of my favourites).

All in all, a fine if possibly cynically calculated pop album.  The follow-up “Rush of Blood to the Head” was likewise still reasonably worthy.