Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto

Tue 1st Nov, 2011 in Music Reviews

Coldplay are without doubt one of the most iconic bands of the last decade and have been on top of countless “best albums/bands/songs” lists and polls placing them amongst the most successful bands known in the industry.

Before anyone attempts to listen and/or judge this latest release, they should be aware that it is obvious that the band’s musical influence and direction has been altered, whether by creative inspiration or possible attempts at breaching a more mainstream audience, whatever that reasoning is, Coldplay has progressed beyond their conventional style of rock and into the world of mainstream pop success, much to the delight of some and the disgust of others.

Mylo Xyloto has already caused quite a stir amongst the devout, with many accusing the age-old “selling out” and “mainstream” abuse, but most of those comments are based upon the early singles rather than the album itself, and if nothing else, portions of the album do highlight a variation to the piano-riff, guitar-chord anthems of their debut, even if the style is somewhat commercial.

The album opens with a title track, but essentially is just an introduction to the follower Hurts Like Heaven. The two tracks open the album with an instantly recognizable change in atmosphere from Viva La Vida, opting for a bright and bouncy tempos and frustratingly memorable lyrics.

Following on from that is Paradise, the second single released from Mylo Xyloto. This track is certainly an example of the mainstream tags being placed upon the album, with far more digitised instrumentation and hook based composition. When looking at the lyrical component behind a track like this, it does bring a small tear to those who are familiar with traditional Coldplay songs. This is mostly caused by the immense repetition of “la’s,” “oo’s” and “para’s.”

There is a saving grace however, in the form of two particularly great tracks. The first of which is Charlie Brown, a very Life In Technicolour -esque rock track, filled with real instruments and plays upon the type of structure that Coldplay is and should always be successful for.

Major Minus is another one of these saviour tracks and was actually the B-side on the EP for the first single Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall. Major Minus builds on the clichéd “us against the world” theme, but is a highly enjoyable track, filled with quite decent songwriting techniques and is one of the best tracks on this album.

It is a complete shame that Princess of China, the duet with pop princess Rhianna was ever allowed in the final cut of Mylo Xyloto, as it is simply a horrible track, both in construction and execution. The vocals are taken over by an auto-tuned Rhianna and a synth-filled harmony. This is the only major disaster on the album and is disappointing that it was ever released, but alas, it has happened, so we all must move on.

To not dwell on the past of Coldplay, would be a near impossible task when listening to Mylo Xyloto as the expectations were somewhat unmet after the considerably long wait between drinks. However every stadium band has an album that is considerably pop-based, for Muse it was The Resistance and for Green Day, it was well….anything after American Idiot. Some will agree and some will totally disagree with what has been said, but this is the sort of album that will divide fans, but will further accentuate how great their older material truly is. But to summarise everything that has just been said, Mylo Xyloto is certainly not a bad album, but merely a scuff-mark on the catalogue of one of the world’s biggest bands.