Coldplay – Lovers in Japan
The piano charges before the vocal arrives, and that rush is the pleasure of the track. Lovers in Japan, from Coldplay’s June 2008 album Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, is built as a run: chords climbing, Will.
Coldplay – 42
Piano and strings open quietly, close to rehearsal volume. The tempo then changes, Jonny Buckland's guitar comes in, and the last section stacks loops, drums, and more piano. 42, from Viva la Vida.
Coldplay – Square One
A three-note figure comes first, close to Strauss and Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. Then Will Champion's drums come in, Guy Berryman's bass gets thicker, and Chris Martin's vocal sits in a mix made for headphones and for stadiums.
Coldplay – What If
A plain piano figure, then Chris Martin asking the blunt question: what if you decide you don't want me there. What If sits second on X&Y (2005), right after the opener Square One.
Coldplay – Speed of Sound
The piano figure repeats before the vocal even arrives. Then Will Champion's tom pattern, taken from the feel of Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill, pushes the verse while a synth pad holds the background. Speed of Sound was the lead single from X&Y.
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