New Singles

As I do some last minute preparations for my exam this afternoon, I checked out a couple of the new singles that were released on iTunes today from two of my favourite bands. Of course, for a mere $0.99 I had to grab them. It's a bright spot in what is otherwise a day full of work and drudgery.

Firstly, the new single from The White Stripes, "Blue Orchid." It's got a driving guitar riff that pushes the song forward, not unlike "Seven Nation Army," but faster tempo and more variation. Jack's voice sounds a little bit more filtered, different than it's usual raw feel. Nonetheless, I like it and it bodes well for the upcoming album Get Behind Me Satan. Something a little bit new without throwing out all the good stuff.

Second, Coldplay, "Speed of Sound" is definitely not a huge leap forward, and far less different from the status quo than the Stripes track. But sometime I think that innovation is overrated. The guys know what they're good at and do it well. The single rests on the simple piano progression and Chris Martin's vocals carrying the story. The more I listen to it, I think this could be a good U2 track actually. Reminiscent of "City of Blinding Lights" off of Atomic Bomb, with the piano, the cymbal heavy drumming and "Edge-like" guitar. That's not a bad thing though, as I've always felt that Coldplay has a lot of similarities to U2. I'm looking forward to the new album.