Love Letter To A Record: Eliza & The Delusionals On Coldplay’s ‘Parachutes’

May 20, 2022

Our love of music is often very personal. Many of us associate particular albums with pivotal moments in our lives. Whether it’s the first record you bought with your own money, the music that soundtracked your first kiss, or the one that inspired you to take a leap into the unknown – music is often the catalyst for change in our lives and helps shape who we become.

Music Feeds’ Love Letter To A Record series asks artists to reflect on their relationship with music and share stories about the effect music has had on their lives. Here, Eliza & The Delusionals‘ lead vocalist, Eliza Klatt, confesses her love for Coldplay’s debut album, Parachutes.

Eliza Klatt on Coldplay’s Parachutes

The year is 2009. I’m sitting in the back of my dad’s car on a road trip, bored out of my mind listening to the radio. This was before I had an iPod or something cool to listen to music on, so I’m sitting there playing my DS listening to the talkback radio he was playing.

A few months earlier, I had been to my first concert ever, which was Coldplay at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre. I thought about that show every night since, and how I had decided that one day, I was going to be in a band just like Coldplay. We stopped off at a shopping mall on the way and went into a CD store – probably Sanity or something like that – and I remember going straight to the Coldplay section to see if they had an album that I hadn’t yet heard. And there it was: Parachutes by Coldplay.

I remember I was so excited and convinced my dad it was essential for me to have this record, throwing a tantrum in the middle of the shops and all of that, of course. I couldn’t wait to get back into the car to listen to it. The thought of listening to a Coldplay record that I hadn’t heard before was the most exciting thing ever, and I couldn’t wait to be obsessed with every song and learn every word.

I put the CD in and the first track, ‘Don’t Panic’, started to play. I was instantly hooked. I will never forget the feeling I felt when I listened to it. I felt warm and comfortable and almost like a butterfly feeling – it’s a feeling I get now when I write something I feel really strongly about.

As the album went on and on, I couldn’t believe that I was only just discovering it now and that I had gone this long as a Coldplay fan without knowing this record front to back. I still feel so good when I listen to that record, and it’s an album that will always be so special to me. It’s always going to remind me of being younger and discovering the music that was essential in turning me into the musician I am today.

Say what you will about Coldplay, but they truly are the best band in the world and Parachutes will always be my favourite album of all time.