Rate Coldplay's new album "Mylo Xyloto"

[Black Jesus]

Rate the album!

I'm saying A. 3rd time listening to it today already!

[nighttime]

B+

[Illusions]

B- Favorite songs are Hurts Like Heaven, Princess of China, Charlie Brown, Paradise and Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall.

[Black Jesus]

lol @ the 1 F

[xxfetchmonsterxx]

Resisting temptation rn :(

^^ and I know, there's always one F who never posts

[Deleted]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

sorry I didn't enjoy what I heard, not my cup of tea

[Deleted]

A

Coldplay

[singingsparrow]

I'd give this a B.

What this album has going for it is the unique array of electronic textures, yet still sounds driven at the core by the musicianship on most tracks. "Hurts Like Heaven" sounds like spacey power pop, then "Us Against The World" into semi-Arcade Fire territory, and then "Major Minus" comes across like "Achtung Baby" U2, etc. The synths undoubtedly stand out at the forefront, yet somehow still sound instrumentally driven. Really, the only track where you find for a moment no instruments stand out is "Princess Of China". Every other track, however, still sounds band-driven.

The band members said in numerous interviews that the record started out in more of an acoustic vein and was also approached as the soundtrack for a scrapped animated feature film, and it shows. "Us Against the World", "U.F.O." and "Major Minus" all have acoustic components retained, and when you listen from front to back, it does sound conceptual, even if the story is vague.

*

My main criticism of "Mylo Xyloto" is that some of the tracks never attain full emotional poignancy because Martin's vocals are eclipsed by the sweeping production. Exceptions include "Up In Flames", "U.F.O." and "Us Against The World", which feature more sparser arrangements and thus give Martin the opportunity to emotionally appeal to the masses.............but one too many tracks doesn't provide enough space for Martin to really deliver. I can say live renditions of "Charlie Brown" and "Hurts Like Heaven" deliver the emotion resoundingly, but I have to say I was slightly disappointed hearing the studio versions to find they didn't entirely capture the epic energy of the live shows.

*

"Up In Flames" would be my personal favorite, with "Up With The Birds" and "Hurts Like Heaven" also up there. Really, there is no bad track on the album. I'd say "Don't Let It Break Your Heart" is my least favorite song, but even that has some sentimental, shining production that makes it listenable, as unoriginal as it is from a songwriting angle. "Princess Of China" didn't wow me either, but I do believe Rihanna gives a strong vocal performance and the production sounds unlike anything the band have ever dabbled in before, with the pan flute-esque synth flavors. It's the weak lyrics that ultimately make it a more forgettable offering of theirs to my ears.

I'd give this album three-and-a-half stars out of five, so surely a B grade. Not as good as "Viva La Vida or Death & All His Friends", but you'll find no sad panda here either. You'll actually find a content one, at that.

Namaste,
lisping HIBISCUS

[horchata]

The 5 F's are making me want to buckle and listen to a leak of this now, but I'll wait.

[Hook]

Oct 17, 2011 21:00:22 GMT -5 Illusions said:

B-

I agree with this. Paradise, Hurts Like Heaven, and Princess of China are the best songs for me, along with Every Teardrop. Overall I'd say I enjoy the album as a whole, more than their past albums that I've listened to. But I wouldn't say it's amazing.

[singingsparrow]

Oct 18, 2011 9:10:45 GMT -5 horchata said:

The 5 F's are making me want to buckle and listen to a leak of this now, but I'll wait.

I'm confused as to why it has gotten this many F's.

It's perfectly alright if some loathe this as strongly as they do. I'm just curious to read a more detailed summary of what brought one to those conclusions.

I'm just under the impression that, based on some of the comments I've seen on YouTube in response to their two singles this era, that many merely slagged them for getting too "poppy". What is that supposed to mean? Are they forbidden from ever experimenting with more mainstream-friendly sounds in their view? That they on some sort of curfew and must not wander too far out of the "Parachutes" sandbox? I just feel purism influences some of the opinion of their newer material to a significant degree.

Namaste,
lisping HIBISCUS

[dbhmr]

I'm going with B for now. I've listened through twice, and--oversimplifying it--its strengths seem to be its weaknesses. It's a very cohesive, production-heavy album (albeit quality production) that really flows from one song to the next. But at the same time, that quality leaves me not particularly interested in any one song save for "Hurts Like Heaven" (perhaps aided by the fact that it comes essentially first), "Paradise" (perhaps aided by the fact that I already knew it), "Up in Flames," and the true jewel of the album, "Princess of China." Then again, maybe I just need to let the individual tracks gel with me a bit more. I've never been a Coldplay fan (I have exactly three songs in my library by them), not because I don't like them, but because I'm not interested by them. This album in general interests me, but the majority of the tracks don't yet. I'll keep listening to it and see if I purchase the whole thing or just the handful of tracks I like most.

[franklin]

B. I like about half the tracks. I've never been a huge fan of Coldplay, usually I only like their singles but this album seems to be more inline with my tastes.
Every Teardrop is a Waterfall, Paradise, Princess of China and Hurts Like Heaven are my favs.
The production overall is fantastic.