Recently, the band Coldplay released their long-awaited documentary: A Head Full of Dreams. Based loosely around their last album of the same name, the movie features clips of the band from their very beginning to their rumoured end. Releasing 7 albums and many hit singles over the course of 20 years, Coldplay’s talent and ability to connect with their audience has made them an iconic band.

The documentary started out with clips from their A Head Full of Dreams tour, a record-breaking display of lights and colors. Old videos of the band from the late 90’s soon appeared, giving a bit of a contrast between the band’s humble beginnings and their explosion of an end. It’s not confirmed that the band isn’t making any more albums, but at the end of the show, Chris Martin said he’d be surprised if the group released anything else.

Each album’s process was gone over, how it was recorded, and the mindset of the band at the time. Although various EPs were released before their first album, their recorded journey started out with the 2000 album “Parachutes”. Their hit single from it was “Yellow”, one of their most popular songs to date.

Next was “A Rush of Blood to the Head”, recorded in 2002. Their song “The Scientist” from that album is another one of their well-known hits. A song that they should have gone over was “Clocks”, another one of their breakout tunes that didn’t get the recognition it deserved.

With “X&Y”, personal drama within the band started becoming more clear. Their drummer, Will Champion, decided to leave the group after the other members became increasingly aware of his lack of skills. He started out as a fill-in for Coldplay, not really qualified for his role, but he knew they needed a drummer.

“X&Y” is my personal favorite album from the band, boasting “Fix You” among many other quality songs. I was pretty shocked when Martin explained how he wasn’t happy with the album, but that probably had to do more with the circumstances it was written in.

Champion was invited back into the band just in time for their 4th LP: “Viva La Vida”. Martin commented that with their drummer back, everyone was excited and ready to record. Their big hit was, obviously, the song “Viva La Vida”. The rest of the album was, in my opinion, pretty bad. With the cover art and everything, they were trying to obtain an edgier vibe that didn’t quite fit them.

From there, the documentary sped up, almost completely glossing over their next album, “Mylo Xyloto”. Although “Paradise” was a part of the tracklist, it wasn’t mentioned at all. Not even their collaboration with Rihanna on “Princess of China” was highlighted. Perhaps she didn’t want to be filmed

At this point, the film switched to Martin’s love life, or lack thereof. His “conscious uncoupling” with Gwyneth Paltrow was all over the news, and it was clear that this had a lasting impact on Martin. As the rest of the band remarked, he was an open book with the public, writing a multitude of songs obviously geared towards his ex. Their next album “Ghost Stories” was no exception. It supposedly took a lot for Martin to even come to the studio, however expressing his feelings through music helped him in his healing process.

Coldplay bounced back for their last album: “A Head Full of Dreams”. Martin mentioned he was the most proud of this one in particular, saying that the style of this album was everything the band had ever wanted to achieve. Now that they had achieved it, he said, their albums had come full circle, ending a chapter for them.

Although I hope they come back for another album, this really feels like the conclusion of their careers together. With the album, tour, and movie of a lifetime, Coldplay will forever live on as one of the most influential bands in the early 21st century.