Coldplay - Atlas

The British Rock group is back with a new song that was especially composed for the new Hunger Games: Catching Fire movie. The song is a return to the sound of their earlier work. It is dramatic, enchanting, hypnotic, and haunting. The swirling production is absolutely stunning as are the lyrics. The vocals almost get buried under the layers of production, but they are there. This is an exquisite track.

-Listen to the song here (YouTube)
-Purchase the song here (iTunes)

Grade: A

Sebastian Ingrosso & Tommy Trash feat John Martin - Reload

Sebastian Ingrosso was one of the members of Swedish House Mafia which recently disbanded. He teams up with producer Tommy Trash and vocalist John Martin (he sang on the SHM hits "Save The World" and "Don't You Worry Child"). This song was previously an instrumental, but now a new vocal mix has been premiered on Radio1's Essential Selection. This song is in a similar vein as earlier SHM vocal tracks, however, it is all the more poignant in light of SHM disbanding. The vocals have the urgency and emotion in them that Bono and Chris Martin did on their work with U2 and Coldplay respectively. An edit of this could help this one do as well as "Don't You Worry Child."

Listen to the song here:


Grade: A

Swedish House Mafia feat John Martin - Don't You Worry Child

This is their latest single. It is vocal-oriented track in a similar vein as last year's "Save The World." Lyrically it is very positive and hopeful. The vocals by John Martin are beautiful. They call to mind some of Bryan Adams' earlier work. The instrumental production is ethereal and uplifting. The main riff calls to mind the ones used in Coldplay's "Every Tear Is A Waterfall" and Avicii's "Levels." This one would find success in both clubland on mainstream radio.

Listen to the main version here:


Grade: A

Coldplay - Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall

This is the lead single off of their forthcoming new album. The guitar-driven uptempo samples "I Go To Rio" by Peter Allen. It has a slight electro undercurrent to it. The way the sample is used, it does call to mind some of the recent Pop hits with similar sounds such as "Dynamite", "California Gurls", and "Tik Tok". The only issue with the production is the lack of a proper beat throughout much of it. Vocally, Chris Martin sounds fantastic. The song isn't as immediately catchy as their earlier work, however it is quite the grower.

Listen to the song here (YouTube)
Purchase the song here (iTunes)

Grade: A-