Welcome to the pond

I can't really think of anything to post today, so I suppose I'll just talk about my impressions of the albums I've bought so far.

Coldplay's "X&Y" is just plain beautiful. It's been getting mixed reviews, but surprisingly they haven't affected me too much because nothing anyone says will make me love this album any less. Maybe it's because this is my first Coldplay album? I have nothing to compare it to except the previous Coldplay singles. As I've said before, artists sometimes just can't win. The consensus on "X & Y" is that Coldplay hasn't moved forward and is just following its established formula. Well, maybe so, but is that such a bad thing when the formula leads to such beautiful songs? Honestly, I can see where some people are coming from on this. I haven't come to terms with Coldplay until recently. Yes, Chris Martin does whine at times. So did Jeff Buckley, but he's still one of my favorite vocalists of all time. I tend to enjoy the gorgeous piano and falsetto sounds that bands like Coldplay make, so I suppose Coldplay is a band I just naturally enjoy. I know that people either love or hate Coldplay, or simply don't care, so I'll let criticism slide and bask in the knowledge that I can appreciate the beauty of "X &Y."

Missy Higgins' "The Sound Of White" sounds a lot like albums from Keri Noble, Sarah McLachlan, and similar female artists. What sets Missy apart is her distinctive Aussie singing accent and her very strong piano playing. I have to admit that I'm still trying to fully dig deep into this album. I think perhaps there's one too many slow piano ballads. Even so, I think Missy has created some great songs. She could perhaps come up with some catchier melodies, but she's young and she'll grow and improve over time. I've been trying to compare her to Keri Noble, and right now I think Keri's album gets the nod for its diversity of sound. I'll keep listening to "The Sound Of White" though, and let Missy's beautiful voice and piano playing touch my heart.

U2's "The Joshua Tree" is perhaps one of their most talked-about albums. This is my first U2 album purchase, which makes my listening experience all the more interesting. So far, I think most of it is pretty darn good and sometimes very excellent. I tend to enjoy the big, loud, vocal and guitar-driven U2 anthems, so songs like "Where The Streets Have No Name" and "In God's Country" are right up my alley. There's a few songs that I'm still trying to get into, though. Also, a big minus for me is that the last two songs are so quiet that I can barely hear Bono singing, let alone understand what he's singing about. I think this album could definitely use a remastering, at least on some of the songs. If I have to turn the volume way up to hear a human voice, I'm not too happy. But, all said, this is a U2 album and one of their most loved at that. I already love the majority of the songs, and I'm sure the rest of them will grow on me over time.