I’ve never liked ghosts much. In fact I’m terrified of the very idea of them. There is however nothing to fear from ‘Ghost Stories’, Coldplay’s latest album. Two key words came to mind whilst listening to this album: “mellow” and “pretty”. That’s not to say it is a tepid flop of an album; far from it! Quite simply it is exceedingly chilled out, and in this fast paced and stressful age of life we live in I think this album might just be exactly what most of us need (be sure to look out for the gorgeous plucking of violin strings in ‘True Love’!). However, this album has left me somehow wanting more. ‘A Sky Full of Stars’, the most upbeat track, made an arguably much needed entrance as the penultimate song on the album, bringing a bit of light hearted fun to the proceedings. The album in general is also quite short. Essentially, if there had been one or two more tracks that were more upbeat and immediately memorable, this could have won a metaphorical gold medal, instead of a silver, in the totally fictional Summer Music Games. To sum up: it is a good album, and really worth a listen, I just don’t think there’s a track that will still be being played in years to come like previous hits ‘The Scientist’ ‘Fix You’ or ‘Paradise’.
~ Michelle Archer