• Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Aug 27, 2002
User Score
8.9

Universal acclaim- based on 590 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 21 out of 590

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  1. BenjaminBunny
    Jun 8, 2004
    6
    Damn. Just when I thought I found a new band to hate ("Parachutes," the worst album Catherine Wheel never recorded) this album comes along and makes me like them. Well, in the same way I like 80s-era U2, which is to say it's listenably pretty--as long as you don't pay too much attention to the lyrics it sounds okay. Not that I'd actually own it.
  2. MultipleMiggs
    Sep 2, 2002
    5
    Calvin listens to 4 songs and decrees a 10? Thank god there will be people who actually listen CRITICALLY to this album and realize that, while there is some great songwriting going on, there are few if any original ideas presented.
  3. VinceP.
    Sep 16, 2002
    5
    I gave it a 5 only to don't give him a 0. Hated it. How can bands like Flaming Lips, Primal Scream, The Bees...., be considered worst then this guys. Forget this guys. Listen to The Bees, I am Kloot, etc.
  4. DaveD.
    Sep 8, 2002
    4
    I'm a huge fan of brit-pop and of Coldplay's former album, "Parachute", but I just can't understand the universal acclaim of this album. I bought it before I read any reviews, and I thought it was a horribly repetitive, inspireless work. The lyrics are incredibly tepid and sound like a singer whose just filling in repetitive rhythms with cliched lyrics and spoiled imagery. I'm a huge fan of brit-pop and of Coldplay's former album, "Parachute", but I just can't understand the universal acclaim of this album. I bought it before I read any reviews, and I thought it was a horribly repetitive, inspireless work. The lyrics are incredibly tepid and sound like a singer whose just filling in repetitive rhythms with cliched lyrics and spoiled imagery. It sounds as if they're trying to sound like Doves's "Lost Souls", creating pop music that builds upon sonic landscapes, but can't find enough interesting ideas that can fill out a four minute song. Listening to this album back to back with Radiohead's past few sonic excursions, I realized Coldplay really is just a wannabe in every respect. I now know that I shouldn't have expected as much from their last meisterwork, "Parachutes". Coldplay is little more than Oasis deciding to steal the sound of Radiohead and Jeff Buckley instead of The Beatles, and the day will come when they matter just as little to the current pop landscape as the horrid imitative brats Oasis. A year ago I was hoping for only the best for Coldplay, but they have lost one fan because of this album. Hopefully next time, they'll write some songs that were created from inspired imagination instead of the awkward formulas that dominate this album. Expand
  5. DomS.
    Aug 10, 2003
    5
    When it's good, it's pretty mediocre. When it's bad, it's still pretty mediocre. P.S. Ignore the lyrics. They will induce seizures. it makes you wonder how Gwyneth Paltrow can handle Chris Martin's "sweet little nothings" in her out-of-his-league ear.
  6. DR
    Feb 15, 2009
    4
    I remember buying this album when it came out after thoroughly enjoying parachutes and being underwhelmed. Very bland radio friendly stuff. No wonder the backlash against these guys; it started with this album.
  7. jake
    Aug 30, 2002
    6
    You people are funny, this album is rather mediocre, I've listened to it beginning to end about a dozen times now, and it really isnt that good at all. To the guy that says this is better than "OK Computer" YEAH RIGHT! what a joke! Coldplay isn't a tenth of what Radiohead is/was.
  8. AG
    Sep 7, 2002
    6
    This album is dull, predictable, and almost devoid of ideas. The majority of the tracks open and build the same way. Martin's melodies are pleasant but his bandmates add little to the material. Guitar melodies are usually two bars or less and they are happily repeated with little change. The drums and bass are there but far from interesting. Two or more lines are rarely played at the This album is dull, predictable, and almost devoid of ideas. The majority of the tracks open and build the same way. Martin's melodies are pleasant but his bandmates add little to the material. Guitar melodies are usually two bars or less and they are happily repeated with little change. The drums and bass are there but far from interesting. Two or more lines are rarely played at the same time leading to terribly simple and uninteresting music. This is Radiohead without the energy, intelligence, emotional depth, inventiveness, and talent. This is elevator music. It should sell well. Expand
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 25 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 20 out of 25
  2. Negative: 2 out of 25
  1. Without the emotional resonance of Martin's voice at its most free, Coldplay's brilliantly minimal musical foundation has nothing to support. So it falters.
  2. Coldplay's new record is a little edgier, trancier, and more conversational than their last. It is called A Rush of Blood to the Head, and in waves and swells of major tunes and frisky then looping time signatures, that's just about the effect it has.
  3. But while the sound of this album is more expansive, the influences a bit less obvious, and the approach more varied, the guys forgot to tote along their initial strength: the songs.