At first blush, this shy, introspective London-based quartet don't seem poised to be one of England's biggest sensations for 2K -- but they are. Parachutes, their first outing, entered the British charts at No. 1, ousting Eminem, and it vied for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize for Best British Album (losing to another hot debut, from Badly Drawn Boy). It's a little surprising that such a calm, albeit emotionally dense, album has caused such a stir. The young group's meditative rock often sounds like a cross between Travis, Jeff Buckley, and Bends-era Radiohead on mood stabilizers. But Coldplay never approach those bands' intensity or hysteria: Chris Martin's voice occasionally flips into a Buckely-esque falsetto, but his tone is always serene, and the tempos seldom step above a canter. On the first single, "Yellow," for example, over a slow drum beat and a shimmering mesh of acoustic and electric guitars, Martin's pleading vocals gently nudge the song forward to a dramatic, if restrained, conclusion. Although Parachutes isn't the sort of album to throw on at your next kegger, the songs have a melodic strength and quiet beauty that belies the group's youth and elevates Coldplay to "one to watch" status.
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