Album Anniversaries: Coldplay’s ‘Parachutes’ Resonates 20 Years Later

Though reluctant and subdued, Coldplay’s enduring optimism shines through the melancholic tones of the band’s stunning 2000 debut.

Written by Myah Taylor 

Coldplay in the early 2000s. Photo courtesy of NME

After the decline of mid-’90s Britpop and Radiohead’s sonic departure from its The Bends era, Parachutes landed just in time for the new millennium, seeping into souls and establishing Coldplay as a powerful, yet unassuming force in music.

“All told, it's incredible this is a debut album,” NME wrote in a September 2005 review. “Accomplished, yet subtle, it works perfectly as a whole in a way all the production skills in the world couldn't replicate.”

Despite its glowing reviews, double platinum sales, and Grammy win, Parachutes also drew the band its first of many criticisms, which would characterize the foursome as dull, derivative, mawkish, and in need of its own identity. In the years ahead, Coldplay would take residence with Nickelback, the Internet’s other most-hated band, despite filling stadiums and touching hearts like few other rock acts could.

Atypical rock stars, Coldplay’s then-college-aged members started out as ‘boys next door’ who worshipped their influences. Frontman Chris Martin’s falsetto on lead single “Shiver” is a direct tribute to Jeff Buckley, and atmospheric deep cut “High Speed” sounds straight off an early Radiohead album. Even as Coldplay mimics its idols on Parachutes, not a moment goes by in its 42-minute run time where its members aren’t themselves, wearing their hearts on their sleeves and maintaining unceasing hope in the midst of pain.

Classic hit “Yellow” and its accompanying music video capture Coldplay’s unflinching positivity and sentimentality, while also distinguishing the band from its inspirations. 

“Parachutes ultimately rises above its influences to become a work of real transcendence: On songs like the unrepentantly romantic “Yellow,” the band creates a hypnotic slo-mo otherworld where spirit rules supreme,” Matt Deihl wrote for Rolling Stone in October 2004.

As Martin walks, clad in an oversized rain jacket, along the shore of an English beach, he looks textbook uncool in the most unapologetic way. Still, the sight of the drenched frontman singing unabashed against the gloomy backdrop about stargazing and “bleeding himself dry” for his lover is heartwarming and genuine. Shot on the funeral day of drummer Will Champion's recently deceased mother, the “Yellow” video ends on an upbeat note, as the sun comes out and radiates the beach where Martin takes his stroll.

Photo courtesy of UDiscoverMusic

Coldplay’s critics and alt-rock contemporaries scoffed at the band’s sweet lyrics and polished appearance — most likely because rock stars weren’t supposed to be so in touch with their feelings. Spencer Owen of Pitchfork  wrote in his November 2000 review of Parachutes that Coldplay’s sappy lyrics would make listeners “expect the band to show up at your doorstep with a wilting bouquet and Hallmark card.” Oasis’ Noel Gallagher, who would later collaborate with Coldplay on its seventh studio album A Head Full of Dreams, called its members “pansies.” 

Though inclined toward idealism, the members of Coldplay don't always have their heads in the clouds. Introspective piano ballad “Trouble” is beautiful in its sound and eerie in its lyrics, as Martin likens failures in a relationship to being trapped in a spider web. On an otherwise hopeful album, “Trouble” is a regretful track that depicts Martin’s apologetic croons of “I never meant to cause you trouble / I never meant to do you wrong” as his only escape.

“Spies,” a supposed tribute to James Bond, is tinged with anxiety, crescendoing in the bridge and crashing down into Martin’s fading whispers of “we’re all spies.” Its lyrics, such as “I wake to find no peace of mind / I said how do you live / As a fugitive?” are a far cry from the typically saccharine words in Martin’s song book.

Despite these “edgier” tracks, the heart of Parachutes remains cheerful. The title track is a quiet interlude, revisiting the album’s recurring theme of unconditional love as Martin sings against sensitive guitars, “In a haze, a stormy haze / I’ll be round, I’ll be loving you always.” Speaking on the album’s namesake, the band said that parachutes, a less depressing title than the initial ideas of Don’t Panic or Yellow, serve as a metaphor for something that saves a person in a time of danger.

No parachute, however, could save Martin from his failures in love on songs such as “Shiver'' and “Sparks.” Though clumsy in his romantic shortcomings, Martin accepts his status in the friendzone with grace on electric guitar-driven “Shiver” and sorrowfully owns up to his mistakes on timid, acoustic slow jam “Sparks.” In both tracks, Martin shows undying loyalty to the object of his affections, even in heartbreak. “I’ll always be waiting for you,” he sings on “Shiver.”

The “Shiver” music video. Photo courtesy of UDiscoverMusic

While Coldplay’s schmaltzy inclinations have alienated many music fans and critics, (New York Times journalist Jon Pareles deemed Coldplay “the most insufferable band of the decade” in a June 2005 review of its album X&Y), the band has also won the hearts of millions. Since its debut, Coldplay has changed its style with each subsequent release, sounding grander on A Rush of Blood to the Head, dabbling in baroque pop on Viva La Vida, and collaborating with the biggest names in EDM on more recent projects. Yet, Coldplay’s formula somehow remains the same, with Martin, his rich melodies, and earnest sentiments at the center of it. Only Coldplay would impart NFL fans to “Believe in Love” on football’s largest stage; the quartet’s sincerity is as welcomed as it is hated.  

This contrasting narrative all began with Parachutes, an album Coldplay said it’s not particularly proud of (in typical self-effacing fashion), yet still holds up among the best debut LPs. 

Despite the chaos surrounding the arrival of Y2K, Martin still manages to sing “We live in a beautiful world ” on Parachutes’ dreamy opening track “Don’t Panic.” Then after an album of turmoil — heartbreak, self-doubt, isolation, and all the dreary accompanying sounds — Coldplay ends on a triumphant note amid lively pianos and guitars with the soaring track “Everything’s Not Lost.”

“When you thought that it was over / You could feel it all around / Everybody’s out to get you / Don’t you let it drag you down,” Martin sings on Parachutes’’ anthemic closer.

Coldplay’s sheer optimism on Parachutes is the icing on the cake, still just as sweet 20 years after its debut. During a time of pandemic crisis and social unrest, Coldplay’s debut album represents a beacon of hope: a person descending down from the clouds to safety, unashamed of how they look doing it.