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Coheed & Cambria pull off shiny pop-rock effortlessly with this distinctive and catchy single

Having only vaguely heard bits of Coheed & Cambria here and there, a little deterred by the geeky science-fiction storylines and comics associated with the band, I am relatively new to their sound and so wasn’t really expecting much from this new single. Taken from their (fairly) new album (deep breath) ‘Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV Volume Two: No World For Tomorrow’, ‘Feathers’ is their second release, and I was pleasantly surprised with it.

Anyone who’s heard Coheed will know they have a quirky sound thanks to lead singer Claudio Sanchez’s distinctively high vocals. I was reminded of Skin from Skunk Anansie when I first heard them, and while this may be a love-it-or-loathe-it singing style, there’s no denying that the guy can write songs. ‘Feathers’ has more of a pop flavour than previous Coheed tracks, with a bouncy sing-along chorus and simple structure. Yet there’s a cracking Pink Floyd-esque guitar section mid-track which reveals that Coheed are definitely no three-chord wonders, and makes rock fans want to hear more. They may be able to play catchy pop tunes well but that’s only because they have the difficult stuff mastered too. With an accessible and radio-friendly track like this, complete with comical Foo Fighters-style video, Coheed are sure to appeal to a wider audience. Hell, they’ve even got their first convert.