Album Review: Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this album. Having not particularly been fond of their last album, I had all but given up on Coldplay to self-praising arena rock stylings. My interest was piqued when they came out with the decidedly dancier Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall. I liked the song...didn’t love it. But I definitely liked it. Then rumors of further electronic influences and a Rihanna feature began surfacing...and I was back in Chris Martin’s corner. (It does of course help me to like him knowing he is friends with Beyonce...girl has good taste!!)

Having listened to the whole thing for a few weeks now...I have to go with my first reaction to the album: LOVE. IT. Here’s the thing, haters: I get why you don’t like Coldplay in general. I get why long-time fans don’t like this album specifically. I GET IT. But here is the other thing: you are completely wrong. And here is why.

As the dust begins to settle just a little bit on the Europop storm that we have had to sit through for the last few years...it is obvious that we are not done with dance music. BUT...I think many people are looking for dance music that is perhaps not so repetitively high-energy. Perhaps we are getting a little bit sick of being told to put our hands in the air every minute of the day. My arms are tired, tbqh.

 So it makes perfect sense for a huge band such as Coldplay to take their generally depressive yet large sound, and apply some electronic power to it. 

And while this whole thing seems a bit bandwagon-y...once I heard the finished product it made even more sense. Coldplay has, with this album, taken a small step back towards the bands they used to be compared to such as Sigur Ros and Radiohead, and a little further from that other band they have been compared to since Viva La Viva: U2. And I think this is important for them to do because they will never be the type of band that U2 is (thank god...hate that twat Bono).

They are, however, quite talented at creating lush soundscapes and beautiful melodies. It has always been their forte, even back when they were a mostly piano based band. Tracks like Paradise and Charlie Brown maintain their big sound, but it’s been a little bit since we have heard Chris Martin sing as tenderly as on stand-out Us Against The World. Then, of course, the pièce de résistance is easily the Rihanna assisted Princess of China. One of Rihanna’s greatest qualities has always been having an effortlessly cool progression to her vocals, and she brings that to the table on this track. Once her first chorus kicked in, I knew it was something special.

Overall, I am happy that Coldplay decided to get into this lane and make some more electronic based music. I am even happier to say that this isn’t just one of the pop releases or the more interesting electronic releases of the year...it is one of the best albums of the year, period. You almost lost me for a bit there Coldplay...but I am quite happy to be back.

Rating:
5/5 Wigs Snatched