New clip is a brightly-colored, paint-covered celebration of everyday life. By James Montgomery Coldplay’s Chris Martin in their “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” music video Photo: Capitol It’s probably impossible to measure how many gallons of paint — glow-in-the-dark, high-gloss, Krylon, etc. — were used in the making of Coldplay’s brand-new “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” video, which premiered Wednesday (June 29). But suffice it to say, it was probably a lot. It seems that paint, gloriously splashed and joyously hued, is a recurring theme in the band’s upcoming fifth album; while you can infer from that what you will, in the case of Coldplay’s “Waterfall” clip, the end result is one that matches the sheer uplift of the song itself. This is a video that shakes you to life. Filmed mainly in stop-motion, the video follows Chris Martin and his mates as they wander through, above and, eventually, outside a decaying urban expanse, their music — and, of course, the paint — breathing new life into its crumbling husk. In a way, that’s sort of like the song, too. Martin’s lyrics are very much about the power his old records possess; they imbue ordinary life with the extraordinary. Aside from the paint, the clip’s use of stop-motion recalls earlier Coldplay videos, most notably “Strawberry Swing,” but they’ve always had a thing for messing with the constraints of time (see the shot-in-reverse “The Scientist” or “Christmas Lights” for proof). Their new one matches the exuberance of “Swing” and the childlike wonder of “Lights,” and, unlike “The Scientist,” there isn’t a single horrifying car wreck to be seen. But mostly it’s about all that paint, those colors and the ability they have to brighten everyday life. Just like Martin sings, every siren can be a symphony and every heartbeat can build a cathedral. With “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall,” Coldplay prove that they’re always on message, even when they’re making a glorious mess. Related Artists Coldplay
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Coldplay Premiere ‘Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall’ Video
