Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

[Nel]

A definite grower. I was listening to it a few nights ago while chilled out as fuck at 2 a.m. and I enjoyed it way more than I did the first time around. So it's probably going to end up being an album I put on when I need to chillax.

[Mladen]

I'm really digging the album, especially the tracks Midnight, Ink and True love. I'd most likely rank it right behind Rush of blood and X&Y.

[LCArenas]

I've been listening to this for the last days and I love it. It's quite dreamy and intimate to me.

For now, the rank goes:

Viva La Vida
A Rush of Blood
Ghost Stories
Parachutes
Mylo Xyloto
X&Y

[425]

I'm listening to it again tonight. It's a seriously good album. I think your description of "dreamy and intimate" is spot on. Midnight is breathtakingly beautiful. It's the most perfect song I've heard in a long time. Maybe it's because I've felt exactly that way so many times before. It's such a surreally beautiful and intensely sad feeling, and this song captures it beautifully.

Mylo Xyloto
Ghost Stories
(Prospekt's March)
Viva La Vida
A Rush of Blood to the Head
X&Y
Parachutes (this is still really good)

[425]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/30339012

Coldplay is apparently working on a new album already! Chris Martin says it might be their last. The album title will be A Head Full of Dreams.

[Kotowboy]

Ghost Stories was their last album

[Fluffy Lothario]

I've finally gotten around to checking out Ghost Stories. I automatically threw the Sky Full of Stars EP and Atlas on the end.

After two and a bit listens, I have a feeling I'll be chopping some tracks out of this, and there's not much that really stands out as great songs rather than just good/very good ones.

[425]

As you can probably tell from my avatar, I loved Ghost Stories. Album of the year for me. But I can see why it wouldn't be everybody's thing.

Midnight, though. I can't stress strongly enough the importance and excellence of Midnight.

[Kotowboy]

I liked about 5 songs from " AROBTTH " and " Fix You " .

That's where my Coldplay enjoyment ends.

[Mladen]

I'm still impressed by how solid Ghost stories was. Such a consistent, thematic album with a great vibe throughout. Even tracks like Oceans are starting to appeal to me.

[Fluffy Lothario]

One thing I have to give this album credit for is it flows like a son of a bitch.

Other than A Sky Full of Stars, which really clashes with the rest of the album, and I'm really not very fond of in general. I've noticed the Coldplay songs I don't like so much are normally ones that just slip by without really asserting themselves (Twisted Logic, X&Y, Up With the Birds, Prospekts March) or the occasional mega-hit oriented track (Clocks, Speed of Sound, Talk). I think ASFOS will be added to that second list. It's too explicitly dancey for me. I get a really bad Call Me Maybe vibe from it.

Other than that, and Another's Arms having probably the most noticeably bad lyrics I've ever heard by this band, everything else is fine, though like I said before, nothing really sounds much better than just fine and makes me go WOW. Magic, Midnight, O and Ghost Story are the slightly stronger tracks, and Atlas is also very good.

[Mladen]

I like how A Sky full of stars is sandwiched between the two calmest songs on the album, and it's very odd that it's placed as a second to last song on it, very unusual for what became a huge hit single. But I agree on lyrics in Another's arms, they really don't do it for me.

[HOF]

This seemed like the most recent Coldplay thread. I'm not really a fan in general, but this new track is gorgeous:

Coloratura:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWUV5-frRU4

Last thing I checked out from them was Viva La Vida, which I thought was a really strong album, but most of their stuff has not landed for me. This sounds really interesting though. Looks like the album is set for an October 15th release.

[425]

Was just about to post this. I'm really excited. I'm a pretty big fan of the band, and I've always thought they had something like this in them.

Also, just to be explicit to anyone who clicks on this and unsure whether to check it: This is a 10-minute quasi-prog song.

[chknptpie]

Straight up Pink Floyd Brain Damage/Eclipse sounding to me. So, needless to say, I dig it.

[LCArenas]

Did

Did Coldplay just release a Prog song

Well, at least the proggiest song they've done. Sure it's no De-Loused in the Comatorium, but it really shows some Floyd influences all throughout the track. I love it. Probably the best song they've done in years. They were showing some signs of doing these kind of songs in Ghost Stories and Hypnotised (Which was an otherworldly song too), but they really outdid themselves with this one. Everyday Life is a nice album (Not among their best ones though), and I didn't care much for their last single Higher Power, but this... This I dig, a lot. Seeing the tracklist of their next album I noticed Coloratura is by far the longest song on the album, so the other singles might be more in line with a traditional pop song style... But Coldplay has surprised me a lot in the past so I'm hyped to see what this album is like

[Nel]

I honestly loved the 00s output and, barring parts of Ghost Stories, really couldn't get into their 10s output, but I'll still check out a new Coldplay release. Higher Power did nothing for me but Coloratura was pretty interesting.

[Mladen]

Wait, we haven't had a single post between 2015 and 2021? 

Maybe we've discussed Everyday life in a separate thread, but I would be surprised if we haven't. That was a really good album, my favorite release of theirs after Parachutes. I wasn't sure of Higher power, given that it reminded me of Mylo and A Head full of dreams, which might be my least favorite Coldplay albums. Still, I'm looking forward to the record.

[WildRanger]

I never really expected that Coldplay will put out a prog rock song one day. Coloratura is surprisingly very good.

[NoseofNicko]

Coloratura is actually the only good song on the album lol.

[Fritzinger]

Coloratura is actually the only good song on the album lol.

Can't say I agree with this. The rest is very poppy and overproduced, yes. But there are some catchy tunes on there. I only heard it once though. But the collab with Jacob Collier is great. And sure, Coloratura is among the best things the band has done ever. Just a beautiful piece of music.

[faizoff]

Include me as one of those who was very surprised at the 10 min track closer. First listen through and it sounds almost like a poppier higher energy version of Ghost Stories. Will need more listens.

[NoseofNicko]

Coloratura is actually the only good song on the album lol.

Can't say I agree with this. The rest is very poppy and overproduced, yes. But there are some catchy tunes on there. I only heard it once though. But the collab with Jacob Collier is great. And sure, Coloratura is among the best things the band has done ever. Just a beautiful piece of music.

Yeah after a second listen it has 3 or 4 decent pop songs but the only song that is very good imo is Coloratura.

[HOF]

Coloratura is actually the only good song on the album lol.

Can't say I agree with this. The rest is very poppy and overproduced, yes. But there are some catchy tunes on there. I only heard it once though. But the collab with Jacob Collier is great. And sure, Coloratura is among the best things the band has done ever. Just a beautiful piece of music.

Yeah after a second listen it has 3 or 4 decent pop songs but the only song that is very good imo is Coloratura.

Kind of disappointing given how strong Coloratura is. May still check this out anyway.

[Nel]

Yeah after a second listen it has 3 or 4 decent pop songs...

I think that's how I've felt about every Coldplay album released after 2010.  Ghost Stories seemed a lot more chill than the others, and I haven't really given Everyday Life a decent listen, but Mylo Xyloto and Head Full of Dreams are SO poppy compared to their early stuff that it kind of took away what I loved about 00s Coldplay.

Collabs with Selena Gomez? BTS? Chainsmokers? Are they just trying to stay relevant? *shrug* As long as they're enjoying themselves, it's cool. I just don't find myself as into this sound as I did with the first four albums.

[LCArenas]

Collabs with Selena Gomez? BTS? Chainsmokers? Are they just trying to stay relevant? *shrug* As long as they're enjoying themselves, it's cool. I just don't find myself as into this sound as I did with the first four albums.

Coldplay is one of my favorite pop bands, but this has always bugged me. Since Mylo Xyloto they've released at least one song per album or EP with a popular artist at the time the album was released (2012=Rihanna, 2014=Avicii, 2016=Beyoncé, 2017=Chainsmokers, 2021=BTS, with 2019 being the only exception), I know they're a pop band and all that but they really really like to ride on the popularity of a successful artist or band. It's like they don't believe they can be popular enough by themselves.

On the album itself I did like Humankind, Human Heart, People of the Pride, Infinity, and of course Coloratura which is the best song on the album by a long mile. Got to say I expected a bit more and got a bit misled by Coloratura, but it's still a decent album. Not better than Everyday Life IMO. For now I'm putting it above Mylo Xyloto and AHFOD just for that song alone.

[Fritzinger]

I listened to the album without knowing who contributed to it. Of course I recognized Jacob Collier. But for example, I loved Let Somebody Go and thought "oh nice, it's a duet with a woman". Later I found out it's Selena Gomez. Am I supposed to like this song less now? I honestly don't care who they collaborate with, as long as I like it 

[Mladen]

I am only on my third listen and it's still early for a detailed review, but what is sort of apparent is that, every time Coldplay releases an album that is different and original (Viva la vida, Ghost stories, Everyday life), they follow it up with a safer, poppier album that should crack into the mainstream easier than the predecessor. The follow up, to me, always pales in comparison a bit.

[Fritzinger]

I am only on my third listen and it's still early for a detailed review, but what is sort of apparent is that, every time Coldplay releases an album that is different and original (Viva la vida, Ghost stories, Everyday life), they follow it up with a safer, poppier album that should crack into the mainstream easier than the predecessor. The follow up, to me, always pales in comparison a bit.

I realized that too! I usually like the more "experimental" ones more (of the ones you mentioned especially Viva La Vida). That being said, I love A Head Full Of Dreams, too.

[NoseofNicko]

Anyone else likes Biutyful from the new album? I feel like I’m the only person who likes it. The vocal effect is a bit annoying but I think it has really catchy vocal melodies and a nice production.

[Fritzinger]

Anyone else likes Biutyful from the new album? I feel like I’m the only person who likes it. The vocal effect is a bit annoying but I think it has really catchy vocal melodies and a nice production.

Apart from the vocal effect, I also think it's a good song! Maybe I have to listen to it some more to get used to the effect.

[Kotowboy]

Sadly it looks like Coldplay are turning into one of those acts who have a ton of co writers, guest (pop) vocalists and producers on each album.

I liked a lot of the first two albums but after that nope. Shame.

[Stadler]

Coldplay is that band I want to LOVE so badly, but I just can't.  The first two records are gold for sure, but they always seem like they are trying too hard to be liked (or U2, one of the two, or both).  I have all their records (and their b-sides) up through Ghost Stories, but there's just so little enthusiasm for me at this point.   Every time I think of Coldplay, I now think of "Gwyneth Paltrow" and that's not what you want in your favorite band(s), IMO. 

[Kotowboy]

Agree 100% on the trying to be U2. Their whole stage presence live is based on U2. With their extended intros whilst Chris talks to the crowd.

I even saw him and Johnny do the whole Bono and The Edge face off where Bono is on the floor and Edge is standing over him with the guitar.

Plus getting Brian Eno to produce their albums. Only trouble is - Chris is not a great singer and U2 never had a ton of guest writers.

[Nel]

I'd say that for me it's the first four albums that are gold. Parachutes and AROBTTH are really moody piano rock albums, X&Y feels like the flipside of the coin to them, being more high energy and "rock"-like while still feeling like a follow-up. Viva La Vida is the first "experimental" one to me (Mladen's right, they DO start alternating between pop-friendly and experimental albums at this point). I love it. It feels like you're listening to a concept album taking place in the late 1800s or something.

Mylo Xyloto is where things started to wobble for me. Ghost Stories is good though. Nice and mellow. Hated A Head Full of Dreams because that took the poppier sound of MX and went full hog with it. The tempo of the songs on those two records feels... faster(?) than the old stuff?

I actually listened to all of Everyday Life for the first time a few days back, and immediately followed it up with the new one. Everyday Life kind of gives me the same vibe as VLV, but nothing on it is all that memorable to me. And Music of the Spheres seems to follow along with MX and AHFOD, but again, not all that interesting, besides "Pride of the People" and "Coloratura" which completely blindsided me. A 10-minute Coldplay song? And it's great?! Fantastic!