Don't Panic has a cool restraint with Buckland's good, evocative guitar and Martin's fluid, unshowy vocals. Coldplay benefit from a trip into Radiohead territory on High Speed, which has the good, spacy synth atmosphere of a song like Subterranean Homesick Alien. High Speed is pretty cool even if Martin lacks Yorke's powerful intensity. On a few songs, Martin reminds me not of Yorke or Buckley but the serious but hardly unremarkable Francis Dunnery. But Martin's lack of flash fits well with Coldplay's easy music.
Trouble has a good low key melancholy.
The lyric and Martin's voice and piano are appealingly unassuming. The CD's short title track, with just Martin's voice and an acoustic, is one of many songs on Parachutes where Martin pledges to patiently wait for the object of his affection to reciprocate his love. Even the lesser songs on Parachutes are very listenable with good aural touches. Sparks is slight but genial. It also has a bit of the Buckley vibe.