If any band is assured enough release a collection of leftovers from their last album sessions (and expect to have it heralded by trumpet-wielding cherubs), it's Coldplay. An EP containing eight tracks deemed unworthy of inclusion on their recent 'Viva La Vida..' album, the irony of 'Prospekt's March is that it's predominantly more interesting than its parent material.
Let's not get carried away, though; it's clear that the majority of these eight tracks are musical detritus, and are as similarly mediocre as many of Viva La Vida's worst tracks. The title track, for example, is a exercise in drab self-indulgence and mars the tempo and tone that the previous songs had been steadily building, and Jay-Z's guest appearance on the otherwise likeable Lost+ is gratuitous - an unnecessary display of inter-genre chumminess.
When Prospekt's March does work, though, it's pleasantly surprising. Life in Technicolor ii's twee Eastern melody shimmers inoffensively, Glass of Water's Echo and the Bunnymen-style guitar pomp cascades from the speakers layer after dulcet layer, and Lovers In Japan's prickly, metallic riff suggests a nod to the likes of '80s stadium giants Simple Minds.
Despite the occasional permissible number, though, Prospekt's March isn't affecting enough to tip the scale either in favour or against Coldplay. It does, however, make one wonder if a different tracklisting for 'Viva La Vida..' may have provided a considerably more listenable album.
