I’ve never given X&Y a proper chance. Not sure why. But there’s never been a time when I’ve ever had the sudden urge to listen to Coldplay’s third album. I’ve only listened to it the once, so maybe it was a case that the overall package wasn’t that impressive to me. I do, however, enjoy the album’s singles. Out of the six that were released, “The Hardest Part” always gains the most of my attention.

Why? Well, “What If” and “White Shadows” didn’t gain much traction commercially in the UK anyway so I wasn’t able to hear those two as much as the remaining four. “Fix You” suffered from being overplayed that it didn’t have the same effect it did upon first listen, “Talk” was alright but not one of their best, and “Speed of Sound“…… well I actually like that one despite it being hated by the group themselves. But “The Hardest Part” hit that sweet spot. An earnest track about a sense of regret, loss, and the inevitability of having to let things go every once in a while backed up by hefty piano melodies, interesting guitar lines and one of Chris Martin’s best vocal performances.

Wouldn’t be performed by the group nowadays. An underrated track for sure. The music video for it takes away from its subject matter just that bit though.