--- description: The band's new album, A Head Full of Dreams, will come out on Dec. 4 title: Coldplay's Early Reviews: 'Wuss Rock' and 'Radiohead Lite' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda0cbbd47255623e/698872d63c1639dd2845aeb5/coldplay.jpeg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [History](/section/history/) ## History Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Read Early Reviews of Coldplay: 'Wuss Rock' and 'Radiohead Lite'  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Dec 4, 2015 11:00 AM CUT  Coldplay's Chris Martin performs in London in Dec. 2000 Coldplay's Chris Martin performs in London in Dec. 2000Brian Rasic—Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Dec 4, 2015 11:00 AM CUT When Coldplay’s new album _A Head Full of Dreams_ hits stores Dec. 4, the band’s place in the modern pop canon will not be in question. But there was a time when they were still new and unproven—and, according to TIME, “cute young things” who were striving to move past the image of being “Radiohead Lite.” “\[_Parachutes_, their first full-length album,\] shared the warbling vocals and slow, stately beat of Radiohead’s more conservative efforts, and comparisons between the two bands ran amuck in the music press–as did disdain from other musicians, who saw the newcomers as rip-offs,” the magazine [wrote](http://time.com/vault/issue/2001-02-26/page/75/ "undefined") in 2001\. That was the case even though it was clear that the bands didn’t actually have much in common. Coldplay’s members were younger, their music was more conventional and their lyrics were sweeter. Alan McGee, a noted music manager, was [quoted](http://time.com/vault/issue/2002-09-02/page/83/ "undefined") calling the band “music for bed wetters.” The test would be whether Coldplay could compete with Radiohead at the Brit awards, and the band did so with flying colors, beating their more-respected peers in several categories. The next year, when Coldplay’s second album _A Rush of Blood to the Head_ dropped, they had clearly decided to stick with what worked. They were “plowing ahead with the bed-wetter thing and improving,” TIME noted. They still made “wuss rock” but it was “excellent wuss rock.” Dozens of major music awards and millions of record sales later, it’s clear that these wusses are going strong. **_Read the first TIME story about Coldplay, here in the TIME Vault:_**[ Cute Young Things](http://time.com/vault/issue/2001-02-26/page/75/ "undefined") ### Musicians on the Cover of TIME  The Dixie Chicks (May 29, 2006) JILL GREENBERG FOR TIME  Kanye West (Aug. 29, 2005) KWAKU ALSTON FOR TIME  Ricky Martin (May 24, 1999) TIME  Lauryn Hill (Feb. 8, 1999) TIME  Jewel (July 21, 1997) HERB RITTS  Pearl Jam (Oct. 25, 1993) NEAL PRESTON  Garth Brooks (March 30, 1992) JAMES SCHNEPF / GAMMA LIAISON  Madonna (May 27, 1985) FRANCESCO SCAVULLO  Michael Jackson (March 19, 1984) ANDY WARHOL  David Bowie (July 18, 1983) TIME  The Who (Dec. 17, 1979) TIME  Linda Ronstadt (Feb. 28, 1977) MILTON GREENE  Paul McCartney (May 31, 1976) RICHARD E. AARON  Elton John (July 7, 1975) DON WELLER  Cher (March 17, 1975) RICHARD AVEDON  Joni Mitchell (Dec. 16, 1974) BOB PEAK  James Taylor (March 1, 1971) J. H. BRESLOW  The Band (Jan. 12, 1970) BOB PEAK  Aretha Franklin (June 28, 1968) BORIS CHALIAPIN  The Beatles (Sept. 22, 1967) TIME  Joan Baez (Nov. 23, 1962) TIME  Frank Sinatra (Aug. 29, 1955) TIME  Rosemary Clooney (Feb. 23, 1953) BORIS CHALIAPIN  Louis Armstrong (Feb. 21, 1949) BORIS ARTZYBASHEFF  Bing Crosby (Apr. 7, 1941) ERNEST HAMLIN BAKER ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4127562/coldplay-early-reviews/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4127562/coldplay-early-reviews/"},"headline":"Read Early Reviews of Coldplay: 'Wuss Rock' and 'Radiohead Lite'","datePublished":"2015-12-04T11:00:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:51.548Z","description":"The band's new album, A Head Full of Dreams, will be out Dec. 4","url":"https://time.com/4127562/coldplay-early-reviews/","keywords":["Music","Coldplay"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda0cbbd47255623e/698872d63c1639dd2845aeb5/coldplay.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltda0cbbd47255623e/698872d63c1639dd2845aeb5/coldplay.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Jools Holland Annual Hootenanny, London, Britain - Dec 2000","caption":"Jools Holland Annual Hootenanny, London, Britain - Dec 2000","creditText":"Brian Rasic—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4127562/coldplay-early-reviews/","name":"Read Early Reviews of Coldplay: 'Wuss Rock' and 'Radiohead Lite'"}}]}] ```