Coldplay reveals 4 songs from upcoming album at SXSW

Coldplay reveals 4 songs from upcoming album at SXSW

Parlophone

Coldplay prefaced the release of Ghost Stories by performing four songs from its upcoming album at the 21st Annual South by Southwest Interactive Festival (SXSW).

SXSW, which occurs in Austin, Texas, always features a wide range of artists from musicians to filmographers to YouTube sensations. iTunes held its own mini-festival at SXSW for the first time and boasted an impressive line-up of artists including headliners such as Keith Urban, Kendrick Lamar, and Pitbull.

Coldplay kicked off the week-long series of concerts with an 11-song set. Its performance was live-streamed online by Apple to allow fans all over the world to revel in the music.

While revisiting old favorites, the band used the concert as a medium to test out new material from Ghost Stories by intermittently including songs from the new album in its setlist.

The concert began with the mysterious and nostalgic “Always In My Head,” the opening song of Ghost Stories. Chris Martin’s crooning voice is accompanied by a steady drumbeat as he sings about a lost love: “I think of you / I haven’t slept / I think I do / But I don’t forget.”

Magic” followed later in the setlist. The syncopated beat of the music and pervasiveness of instruments, such as guitars and organs, provide a unique melody.

The British alternative rockband also played “Another’s Arms,” a haunting song in which Martin laments the loss of the comfort and safety of always having someone by his side:

“Late night watching TV,
used to be you here beside me,
Is there someone there to reach me?
someone there to find me…”

In response to shouts for an encore, the band returned to the stage to play the lead single from the album, “Midnight.” Faintly reminiscent of “Paradise” from the fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto, the track incorporates synthetic elements and muffled sounds of instruments.

If these songs are any indication of the rest of the music Coldplay is scheduled to release, fans can rest assured that the band will be producing fresh, new content, while still remaining loyal to its original style.

Ghost Stories will be released on May 19 in the United States.