First Impressions of Mylo Xyloto (and vote in the 1-10 sliding scale poll!)

[grim99]

Its decent

 

I'll have to re-review this in a week or so because I need to let it sink in. Overall, I think it's good. But I can't help thinking that this album would have been much better without the insane amount of production that went into this. I guess I'll do this track by track

 

MX: One of my favorite moments of the album, gives me that same warm fuzzy feeling that Life in technicolor gives me and I love the way it leads into HLH. excellent

 

Hurts Like Heaven: I love love love love the live version of this. So much to say that it was close to being in my top 10 all time coldplay songs. However, on the album the production wounded it alot, it felt soooo glossed over. The vocal effects keep distracting me. Overall its still a great song and the outro is beautiful, and its a special moment on the album. But there was really no need for those vocal effects IMO. It was kinda funny cause when I heard those effects on letterman I was like, thats weird, the sound must be messing up....nope. Still good though

 

Paradise: Hated it at first, Grew on me, its pretty good. Though, I felt it was awkwardly out of place here, it seems they lead into a lot of songs on the album but for some reason didn't lead into this one. It feels really weird after HLH. And honestly im getting tired of it.

 

Charlie Brown: Great, better live, but still good. Love love the outro. Could have done with less of those weird noises in the beginning and through out but it wasn't too overdone, def one of my favs on the album

 

UATW: Superb, this was excellent on the album. I would have liked a little changeup with the strumming pattern of the acoustic guitar but it was great.

 

MMIX: Pointless other than the last few seconds of lead-in for ETIAW, not really sure why this was on here.

 

ETIAW: Grew on me a lot, I like this song now, its a happy song and I like the lyrics. I know this one got a lot of hate in the beginning (myself included) but I think it kinda captured what the album was about, being happy thorough friendship and all.

 

UFO: Pretty good, I feel like it will grow on me, I like the guitar work. I felt like it could have done without the strings. Im kinda getting tired of every coldplay song erupting into strings.

 

PoC: Is this a bad song? No. I'm not like one of those hipster radiohead fans that despises anything pop. Its a good pop song. BUT BUT BUT. I do not want this on a COLDPLAY album, it just does not belong here. It is not what I want to hear when I think coldplay. If Chris wants to go record some pop songs with people, let him, just don't put it on the coldplay album.

 

Up in Flames: Very dissapointed in this one. The bass and drums are just absolutely obnoxious in this track. And the piano work an lyrics are just so cliche, I felt silly listening to this song. Though, I do like the guitar work at the end. Also, this being right after POC feels awkward as hell. When he sings And its Overrrr.... whats over chris? And the melody is annoying

 

A hopeful transmission: I had high hoped for this one but I was dissapointed when I found out it was only and instrumental. And as an instrumental its not too spectacular.

 

DLIBYH: I feel like this will grow on me. But with all this post production couldn't they have mixed it better? You can hardly hear chris and it sounds fuzzy. Also, the guitar lick seems like a sped up ETIAW lick. And I kind of don't feel like the song goes anywhere. But ill wait and see.

 

Up with da Birds: I like this one and I feel like ill like it more and more. Though that weird sound is kinda jarring. I love the intro/outro of it.

 

 

Im interested to see how this album grows on me ill have to see how I feel in a week. I just have this feeling like im going to get tired of these songs fast. There aren't many times on the album where I get that real coldplay feeling that I'm used to on their other albums. I'm worried for the direction they're heading. Chris is always saying how the POC song was his favorite part of the album and if thats the case... what will the next album be like?! They'll never beat parachutes in my opinion, but I think they can do a bit better than Mylo Xyloto. Hopefully ill change my mind!

 

holy shit I wrote alot

[lotrobsessed101]

I'm on my fourth full listen through of the album. It's a good, solid album, but I'm not in love with it even on the 4th listen. This is kind of wierd for me. I fell immediately in love with Viva the first time I listened to it, same with Rush and Parachutes. X&Y took me a tiny bit longer to appreciate, but not that long. Just a few listens (I became a fan during X&Y era btw). It's a lukewarm reception for me. Maybe it had to deal with the promotional roll-out for this album? I exhaustively listened to all the singles and summer live performances becuase I was so excited. I think that excitement has worn off by now. I knew almost exactly what the album would sound like before I even got it. Also, I think the thing that kills my favorite songs from over the summer is the production. I don't mind production, Viva had plenty of production on it, but in a way that worked with the music.

 

The production on Mylo Xyloto just kind of suffocates the songs. I can hear the beauty of the original "stripped down" songs such as Us Against the World and Charlie Brown that were part of the original "stripped down" album and I just want to tear off the production and have that raw sound that they originally had. I feel they would be stronger songs that way, although their studio counterparts aren't terrible by any means. I like some fine parts Charlie Brown, such as the piano outro, that get to be shown in their full glory on the album. I am not a fan of the voice affects on Hurts like Heaven. It was such a good song live, and it just completely lost it's power in the studio. Another song I have issues with are Up in Flames. I'm really just not a fan. I don't see the beauty in it whatsoever. I don't like the drum beat and Up in Flames is repeated one too many times.

 

On to the positive. Princess of China wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but I still don't enjoy it on the album. I would have much rather had Moving to Mars. I just don't like featuring artists on my Coldplay albums. I feel that it should have been a b-side or one of Chris's other side projects with the Hip-Hop and R&B artists he is so obsessed with. I really like A Hopeful Transmission, DLIBYH, and Up With the Birds. They all flow extremely well together and make a strong close to the album.

 

Overall I guess I would give the album a 7/10. I gave it an 8 in the poll when I was listening for the first time, but I was over-excited. I need to listen to it many many times to see how much I will actually like it in the scheme of things. Right now I would rank the albums as follows:

 

A Rush Of Blood to the Head

Viva La Vida

Parachutes

Mylo Xyloto

X&Y

[shred]

I've listened to it 3 times already and I can't get enough of it. Loving the second half better than the first but I think it's because the live shows spoiled the first half of the album for me.

 

I think if I didn't listen to the new songs from the live shows, it wouldn't have ruined the album for me. Still love it though as there are differences in the songs from the live shows.

 

More detailed review up later. :)

[sirajlyons]

My dad thought it would be a crap album, and he turned out to like it. if coldplay can change a mans instrest in music this has to be a good album. not there best, but its up there. but they should continue the classic coldplay and new coldplay sounds in there albums

[Keddie]

[ame=

]

[/ame]

my first impressions of mylo xyloto :-)

[Schröder]

I've gone once through it with a friend and listened to a couple of tracks after that. Right now I'm listening to it a second time.

Apparently, the whole album is again a grower, just like many of the tracks we listened beforehand were. While I think that the album as a whole is definitely a success, I feel like several tracks on the album could use a rework considering production, especially Hurts Like Heaven, Major Minus and Princess Of China. Also, many songs really sound overloaded with electronic effects (which becomes obvious when you listen to acoustic songs like U.F.O.

 

MX / Hurts Like Heaven: Definitely a lot weaker in studio than live. Still a great song though. I love the additional vocals in the background.

Paradise: Although I hated it initially, it has grown to me a lot. The lyrics are rather crappy, but they don't disturb anymore while listening to the whole album, and still it's a decent tune.

Charlie Brown: Boom! Really blew me away at first listen. Some parts sound better live ("light a fire up by the spark..."), but overall it is a fantastic song. Obvious single too.

Us Against The World: The overloaded intro doesn't belong there, but otherwise, it's really good, especially the instrumentation. Will could be a bit more prominent on that one.

M.M.I.X.: Half of the time would've done it too. I also hate the transition between this and ETIAW on mp3-players (the silence between kills the flow). Works perfectly as an intro though.

Every Teardrop is a Waterfall: Not much to say about it cuz we've heard it for months. I have to admit that I liked it much more than Paradise. Somehow, it's at an odd position in the album followed by Major Minus.

Major Minus: Flows neither with ETIAW nor with U.F.O. and it is lacking the drive from live versions (even some live performances miss the rhythm of e.g. Rock am Ring (best one in my opinion). Great song, but poorly recorded and produced, which is really a shame.

U.F.O.: Perfect. Great lyrics (as far as I could discover) and lovely intimate acoustic arrangement. I also discovered that it features elements from the Wedding Bells guitar version, which is simply awesome. The Takk sample is perfect too, although I don't know what to think of it.

Princess Of China: Rihanna doesn't sound like Rihanna most of the time. :lol: The arrangement and production is not really successful imo, because it doesn't capture the drive and climative build from the live version (yes, I mean the crappy Rock im Park audio!). Still I could imagine this charting high. It's a great song actually but could use more Jonny towards the end.

Up In Flames: Strip away the strange beat (reminds me a lot of early Animals live) and it would be a lot less annoying. A bit repetitive too. I guess it has to grow on me first. The guitar towards the end is great though.

A Hopeful Transmission: Nice reprise of MX. Also helps to build up tension.

Don't Let It Break Your Heart: Sounds like a descendant of Things I Don't Understand or other X&Y-tracks, but better. There's a lot happening on that track and I could not manage to capture everything, it's just too overwhelming. But what I can say from now is that it must be a terrific tune live.

Up With The Birds: Divided into two parts, with the first being atmospheric (equals to dragging a lot for me) and the other country-esque, crunchy and crispy (my favourite). Lovely end to the album. Somehow the second part also has a nice rhythm to it, it instantly brings me to dance :lol:

 

All in all, it seems really short, although it is not much shorter than Viva La Vida (only about a minute). Apparently that's what Coldplay wanted to achieve: a short and concise experience. I'd love to tack in some b-sides to expand it a bit, I somehow miss a bit of content. I like a lot the flow that the album has from Up In Flames onwards - after listening to Up In Flames separately, I just had to go on with the rest. I think I've only had that with Kid A before, and that's the best album I've ever heard I think. The transitions between the tracks in the first half are not as smooth though. ETIAW and MM do not flow at all.

Mylo Xyloto has a lot of tiny flaws that make it unperfect for me. Somehow, I can't help the feeling that a lot of these tracks and the album as a whole would sound even better if several tracks were more stripped-down and acoustic and less loaded with layers of unnecessary electronic blubbers (Hurts Like Heaven, Paradise, Charlie Brown, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall and Major Minus come to mind). Sometimes, they are great to help the song (e.g. the instrumentals), most of them just make it too artificial.

I think this album has deserved at least 7 out of 10 stars for me, but it is too early for me to decide on it at that point. I guess I'd rank it close to VLV and above X&Y. Impossible to compare it to Parachutes and AROBTTH though, this album is completely different.

My favourites at the moment: Charlie Brown, U.F.O., Don't Let It Break Your Heart, second half of Up With The Birds.

[mrman78]

Wow. I am really shocked how much I like Mylo Xyloto. I think all the negative talk on here the last few months made me feel apprehensive towards the album to be honest - I wasn't really sure how to listen to it for the first time. I am very glad that I did not listen to the leak or listen to the entire album before I had the 320 kpbs official version. The first half of the album I was mostly familiar with due to the singles, live versions and the side A sampler. The only song on side B that I had heard was Major Minus. Obviously, the second part of the album was what I was looking forward to the most as it was mostly new, unheard Coldplay!

 

I can definitely see why this album has fans divided. It is a new sound for Coldplay in terms of production and direction. However, there are many tracks where 'early' Coldplay is still there, just under new layers. Utimately, I gave the album a 9/10, which surprised me. I do truly feel it deserves it though. It is a good mix of all the previous albums, while still moving forward.

 

Mylo Xyloto:

Just beautiful. I love this as the opening track and the transition into Hurts Like Heaven. Although, I am with others who have said it's hard to listen to just MX or HLH by themselves...

 

Hurts Like Heaven:

Probably the track I was most fearing as I love the live version and people were saying it was so different on the record. I was pleasantly surprised that it did not crush my enjoyment of the track! I LOVE this song! Yes, it is a bit over-produced, but I also think that makes it interesting. There are so many sounds and layers to the track that a good set of headphones brings out.

 

Paradise:

No surprises here. The second single. It's definitely a grower. I liked it when I first heard it, but the introduction is just fantastic the more I listen to it. It fits so well on the record now I have heard it in context.

 

Charlie Brown:

This is my favourite track on the record. It is such a great track and should definitely be released as the next single! The piano part at the end is just fantastic. This will be a big hit and crowd-pleaser!

 

Us Against The World:

LOVE! This is such an amazing song! I adore the introduction. I loved this track live and this version just makes it all the better. Only quip is I wish Will's duet portion was more pronounced. The first song on the record that sounds like 'early' Coldplay material.

 

M.M.I.X.:

This instrumental makes Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall flow within the context of the record. If this was not here, it would be such an abrupt change from UATW.

 

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall:

Again, no surprises. The first single and a really upbeat and optimistic song. It is pretty dancey for Coldplay, but it's a great song nonetheless.

 

Major Minus:

I had already heard this from the Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall EP. It's a fantastic track and really like it. I would have preferred less distortion on the verse vocals, but Jonny's guitar solo is awesome!

 

U.F.O:

This is such a lovely acoustic track and reminds me so much of 'early' Coldplay. The melody is great, but I just wish it was a tad bit longer.

 

Princess of China:

I was really surprised by this one! First, Rihanna being on the track is strange, but it works somehow. I think this might be one of her better vocal performances. The song itself is very RnB to me, but I do like it. I am surprised to be honest as I was going in thinking I was going to really dislike it, but I think if this is released as a single, it will probably be a big hit.

 

Up In Flames:

I really didn't think I was going to like this song. I had heard a clip of the Austin City Limits live version and it just didn't do anything for me. However, within the context of the record and with the added production, I think this is a great track. Again, it reminds me of 'early' Coldplay and is a welcome addition to the record.

 

A Hopeful Transmission:

Probably the best instrumental on the record. It flows so well into Don't Let It Break Your Heart.

 

Don't Let It Break Your Heart:

Wow. One of my favourite tracks! As with Hurts Like Heaven and Major Minus, I wish there wasn't as much distortion on Chris' voice, but really that's the only negative I see on this stellar track!

 

Up With The Birds:

A fantastic closer! Again, like 'early' Coldplay but with a modern twist. It starts so atmospheric, I had no clue what direction it was going to go! It's a beautiful track and such a great way to close the record!

[TryWhistlingThis]

[/url]

my first impressions of mylo xyloto :-)

 

One mainstream album that hasn’t been hacked out with computers? Allow me:

 

[Keddie]

One mainstream album that hasn’t been hacked out with computers? Allow me:

 

lmao.............oh m ygod...........

[shred]

My review:

 

Mylo Xyloto

Great opener and I wonder what it would have been like as a song. On the next EP perhaps? Great way to go into...

 

Hurts Like Heaven

Wasn't one of my favourite songs when I first heard it live but something about the studio version is making me liking this a lot. Definitely a grower. Good track to open the album up with.

 

Paradise

I'm probably one of those few people who loved this song when it first came out. One of my favourites on the album.

 

Charlie Brown

The studio version is much better with all the added sounds and production. Another favourite. Like the intro and the outro.

 

Us Against the World

Another of my 'live' favourites but for some reason I couldn't get into it as much as I did on the album. And am I the only one who is bothered by the way Chris sings the first "world"? Lol.

 

M.M.I.X

Too short, too short, too short! Nice intro into ETIAW though.

 

ETIAW

My least favourite song on the album. Didn't like it all that much when it was first released and I still don't.

 

Major Minus

Always loved this song and I still do. Though listening to it countless time on the EP kinda ruined the fun for me.

 

U.F.O

Didn't expect it to be a slow song based on the title. I expected it to be fast and a little be depressing (U.F.O crashing and burning/love crashing and burning). So this song took me by surprise - in a good way. It's definitely fast becoming one of my favourite songs.

 

It reminds a lot of the Coldplay of the old (during their Parachutes/AROBTTH days) with Now My Feet Won't Touch the Ground mixed with it. The guitar work here reminds me a lot of NMFWTTG. I think that's one of the reasons why I love this song. Also, it's too short!

 

Princess of China

Might one of the miniority here when I say this is one of my favourite songs on the album. As mentioned in the PoC thread, I knew as soon as I heard the live version, I would like this song and it didn't disappoint on the studio version.

 

Even though I hate Rhianna with a passion, she didn't destroy the song for me. However, I did find the studio version too synth-y and electronic for me. The live version was better but maybe that's because I couldn't hear the synths and the electronic stuff all that well. However, I think this song fits into the VLV era much more nicely than it does with MX.

 

Up in Flames

I think this is one of the weakest song on the album. Didn't like it when I heard it live and I was praying that the studio version would be better but not by much.

 

A Hopeful Transmission

I was disappointed to hear that this would just be an instrumental. Even more so when it turned out to be the shortest instrumental on the album. I think it would have been a lovely song if it was longer. This might have the potential to be a great proper song with lyrics and all - like a slower version of the extended version of Mylo Xyloto. Another song for the EP perhaps?

 

Don't Let It Break Your Heart

Reminds me sooo much of Glass of Water. Sounds very similar. Can't say it's one of my favourites just yet but it's definitely a grower.

 

Up With the Birds

I think this is the best song of the album. Lovely, lovely first half. I think it would be epic if it stayed this way throughout the song. The second half wasn't that bad either. It closes the album nicely and of course you have that lovely piano outro. It reminds me a bit of The Escapist - especially the first half. Best song in my opinion. It made me think, "My boys still have it" and puts a smile on my face after the albums ends.

 

 

All in all, I'm quite surprise with how much I love this album. I've been hearing so much negativity about MX around the boards that it scared me a little. But this album exceeded my expectation quite a lot. It's might just surpass VLV for me. There are songs in there that are different and new but also songs that stayed true to the Coldplay roots - which I think is why I really enjoyed this album a lot.

 

Overall rating: 4/5

[alexman331]

It's certainly gonna take a few listens to get used to it. And I can also certainly tell that Brian Eno produced the album. But over all, I don't think Coldplay can ever make a bad album.

[Revolverwin]

Wow. I am really shocked how much I like Mylo Xyloto. I think all the negative talk on here the last few months made me feel apprehensive towards the album to be honest - I wasn't really sure how to listen to it for the first time. I am very glad that I did not listen to the leak or listen to the entire album before I had the 320 kpbs official version. The first half of the album I was mostly familiar with due to the singles, live versions and the side A sampler. The only song on side B that I had heard was Major Minus. Obviously, the second part of the album was what I was looking forward to the most as it was mostly new, unheard Coldplay!

 

I can definitely see why this album has fans divided. It is a new sound for Coldplay in terms of production and direction. However, there are many tracks where 'early' Coldplay is still there, just under new layers. Utimately, I gave the album a 9/10, which surprised me. I do truly feel it deserves it though. It is a good mix of all the previous albums, while still moving forward.

 

Mylo Xyloto:

Just beautiful. I love this as the opening track and the transition into Hurts Like Heaven. Although, I am with others who have said it's hard to listen to just MX or HLH by themselves...

 

Hurts Like Heaven:

Probably the track I was most fearing as I love the live version and people were saying it was so different on the record. I was pleasantly surprised that it did not crush my enjoyment of the track! I LOVE this song! Yes, it is a bit over-produced, but I also think that makes it interesting. There are so many sounds and layers to the track that a good set of headphones brings out.

 

Paradise:

No surprises here. The second single. It's definitely a grower. I liked it when I first heard it, but the introduction is just fantastic the more I listen to it. It fits so well on the record now I have heard it in context.

 

Charlie Brown:

This is my favourite track on the record. It is such a great track and should definitely be released as the next single! The piano part at the end is just fantastic. This will be a big hit and crowd-pleaser!

 

Us Against The World:

LOVE! This is such an amazing song! I adore the introduction. I loved this track live and this version just makes it all the better. Only quip is I wish Will's duet portion was more pronounced. The first song on the record that sounds like 'early' Coldplay material.

 

M.M.I.X.:

This instrumental makes Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall flow within the context of the record. If this was not here, it would be such an abrupt change from UATW.

 

Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall:

Again, no surprises. The first single and a really upbeat and optimistic song. It is pretty dancey for Coldplay, but it's a great song nonetheless.

 

Major Minus:

I had already heard this from the Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall EP. It's a fantastic track and really like it. I would have preferred less distortion on the verse vocals, but Jonny's guitar solo is awesome!

 

U.F.O:

This is such a lovely acoustic track and reminds me so much of 'early' Coldplay. The melody is great, but I just wish it was a tad bit longer.

 

Princess of China:

I was really surprised by this one! First, Rihanna being on the track is strange, but it works somehow. I think this might be one of her better vocal performances. The song itself is very RnB to me, but I do like it. I am surprised to be honest as I was going in thinking I was going to really dislike it, but I think if this is released as a single, it will probably be a big hit.

 

Up In Flames:

I really didn't think I was going to like this song. I had heard a clip of the Austin City Limits live version and it just didn't do anything for me. However, within the context of the record and with the added production, I think this is a great track. Again, it reminds me of 'early' Coldplay and is a welcome addition to the record.

 

A Hopeful Transmission:

Probably the best instrumental on the record. It flows so well into Don't Let It Break Your Heart.

 

Don't Let It Break Your Heart:

Wow. One of my favourite tracks! It starts so atmospheric, I had no clue what direction it was going to go! It is an amazing track. As with Hurts Like Heaven and Major Minus, I wish there wasn't as much distortion on Chris' voice in the beginning, but really that's the only negative I see on this stellar track!

 

Up With The Birds:

A fantastic closer! Again, like 'early' Coldplay but with a modern twist. It's a beautiful track and such a great way to close the record!

 

this!!! just that ETIAW is my favorite song^^ plus UFO, and DLIBYH

[robins32]

i gave it a 5/10. has some decent catchy songs on it, nothing really blowing me away like parachutes or arobtth....but that's ok, everyone knew which direction coldplay was going after viva came out. cash it in boys.

[purplemonkeyz232]

Last night, when I was listening to the album for the first time, it started storming. And right at the end of Charlie Brown when Chris said, "we'll be glowing in the dark" we lost power in my house. It was truly an awesome moment to hear the piano outro in the darkness with the lightning flashing through the windows! Just...thought I'd rant about that....

[aschall]

MX/Hurts Like Heaven -- 9.0

Paradise -- 6.5

Charlie Brown -- 9.0

Us Against the World -- 8.5

MMIX/Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall -- 7.5

Major Minus -- 7.5

UFO -- 9.5

Princess of China -- 8.5

Up In Flames -- 7.0

A Hopeful Transmission/Don't Let It Break Your Heart -- 8.0

Up With the Birds -- 8.0

 

Mylo Xyloto as a whole -- 8.5

> Paradise really kills the momentum built up from the previous tracks

> Up In Flames isn't beautiful enough to pass as a "simple" song and still be brilliant

> There is a lack of a "without-a-doubt-standout-song" like Viva la Vida or Fix You. Which in a sense, is a good thing but still. Every album needs that MEGA HIT. And with all due respect to Charlie Brown its just not as universally appealing as Viva la Vida

> DLIBYH is very joyful and uplifting, but lacks cohesiveness. As good as it sounds in bits and pieces, it is too all over the place. It does remind of City of Blinding Lights, though.

 

One thing's for sure: this album is a winner. it exceeded my expectations, which were already high to begin with. This deserves album of the year for sure. C'mon! Adele? hope it doesn't happen!! :fingersx:

[JJB]

Track by track:

>Mylo Xyloto/Hurts Like Heaven - Fast, up tempo and exciting. Love the weird voice sounds in the backround of "Yes I feel a little bit nervous".

>Paradise - I liked this song as a single. And I like it on the album even more. But even so, there's something about it I can't put my finger on that makes me feel it isn't in the right place. Strings amazing though.

>Charlie Brown - Good, miss the live bit of "light a fire" with them all shouting it. but otherwise, the whole track feels better than live, and the strings/piano duet at the end really reaches me.

>Us Against The World - Arguably the slowest moment on the album. Love the song, love the guitar, but it doesn't really work for me until Will comes in.

>MMIX/ETIAW - MMIX is such a gift to Every tear. It gives it that sense of epic buildup from the quiet at the end of UATW, and all the noodlings make the whole song more enjoyable. The resolve of the chords gives me shivers, but all in all, I can't help but smile.

>Major Minus - The song of rock. The sirens and Johnny's guitar make this song, but it's the bass I'm really rooting with. The slide makes me jiggle as the song is on. But again, something I can't quite put my finger on makes this song feel a bit disjointed. I love it, but I think that the transition from ETIAW to MM is too sudden. I know that on the Vinyl, this problem will be solved, as the two sections of the story will be separated. But currently not enjoying it as much as I should.

>U.F.O. - Short but sweet. Love it. Second favourite song on the album, with the MX riff introduced very explicitly at the end.

>Princess of China - I for one, like this track. I hate rhianna with a vengance, but it actually works. At least I respect her now. A little too little Chris, but the synths make up for it.

>Up In Flames - The drums make me cringe. I know it's supposed to be minimalistic, but they feel as if they should build, but never do. Until the second chorus, not loving this song. Won't skip it though, because the "Can we pour some water on?" line brings a tear to my eye.

>A Hopeful Transmission/ Don't Let It Break Your Heart - Best bit of the album. Despite not being able to hear Chris' voice very well, it is "Violently life-affirming" as R42 puts it. The heartbeat adds that extra touch throughout both songs, and just makes me grin with sheer happiness.

>Up with the Birds - Not sure about this yet. Makes me think of a guy (Mylo?) about to commit suicide in the first half, by jumping off a bridge. But then he gets off the edge and starts running along it in the second, realising he still has a chance, with life (and Xyloto?) or whatever. Like it. Good ending to the album.

 

Overall - I too would give it an 8.5 out of 10. I can hear the story, or at least my version of it, although I get a bit lost somewhere between Charlie Brown and U.F.O. Even so, feels very filmic. My favourite thing is the repeated melody from MX though, hidden at various points of the album. U.F.O. and AHT/DLIBYH are my highlights, although HLH is a close 3rd. If you haven't bought it yet, buy it now :D

[Yu-tong]

maybe I watched many lives, my heart is not exciting. but I love the album, and I haven't understand all songs. :rolleyes:

[Liam]

5 out of 10 for me because only half of it is good

[bellynelly]

only had the time to listen to it twice, but I loved it on the first time round, unlike the last one which took me a few listens! There were a couple of songs which I wasn't sure of, but they are in no way crap, far from it, second listen and they are already getting under my skin. crackin' good album!

[arielscherzinger]

i love this album....my favorites Paradise & Pribcess of China....i can't stop listening it!!!

[Tonsu]

I've just been listening to the album a lot more and i've arrived at my final verdict. Originally it was a 4 out of 5, i've taken it down to a 3.5. It's not a bad album, but at the same time that's the inherent problem with it, it's absolutely impossible for this album to offend because it ticks all the appropriate "pop" boxes that are relevant for 2011. That's not to say that's all it does, but the effect is noticeable.

 

As I said in my previous review, there's no disputing the talent of this band and the boundaries they can break. You can hear elements of it on this album and can just imagine where they can go, but they don't because the pop sensibilities kick in. With absolutely any band or artist, that pisses me off. It's like a tease, you know they can go further in a way that would both be interesting and non-compromising to their identity as a band, but they just don't. For this reason, I disagree with the comparisons to U2 because they experimented with their sound in the 1990s and took it as far as they could as a quartet and at no point did they ever fail to be U2. For me, it worked and I admire them for it. This is what i'd like to see Coldplay do next.

 

I stress again, not a bad album at all, but it could have been so much more especially in light of this being the follow up to Viva La Vida, my favourite Coldplay album.

 

In other news - my 100th post!

 

I wouldn't agree with the score necessarily, but some excellent points made here :)

[francvi]

I have been listening to the album non-stop for a whole week despite not being initially wowed by it and feeling kinda disappointed. I guess the excitement of having new Coldplay music was stronger than my disappointment and that made me need to listen to the whole album on repeat. That was until I got a couple of other albums yesterday, now I haven't listened to Mylo Xyloto in 2 days and don't think I'll be listening any time soon. So that's what I think it's the main problem about this album: it ticks the right boxes, it won't really offend anybody, it will make Coldplay fans devour the music and they won't be able to get enough of it for a while... until the novelty of it goes ... I don't see this album having any lasting power but I hope to be proven wrong.

 

Main problems the album has imo (now that I've listened to it countless times):

-OVERPRODUCTION, killing Chris's voice on several songs and making all real emotion go out of the window.

-Messy concept: if this is supposed to be a concept album, I'm sorry but I still don't get the concept. It lacks consistency for me.

-It should be 11 tracks and not 14. The interludes are a rip-off and totally ruin the experience if you play shuffle. They would sound great as part of the next track, but not as a track on their own. I can't believe they are even sold separately on i-tunes!

-Certain songs like U.F.O and some others I can't think of right now are too short, it's like they tease you and they suddenly finish when you're actually getting in the mood for more.

-Charlie Brown could be an amazing song if it actually had a chorus. The song is instantly likeable as soon as it starts but you're left feeling there's something missing by the end of it (imho). The music is amazing but the singing part is very weak.

-Princess of China could be great if it had a different structure and less Rihanna.

-How dare they call "Up in Flames" a modern day Fix You????? :O Embarrassing! (again, this is just my personal opinion).

 

There's of course lots of good things about the album: it is very uplifting, addictive and, unlike most people, I actually LOVE Paradise. I also love Up With The Birds (wish it was longer though) and even Major Minus. Hurts Like Heaven could be spectacular with better production.

 

I'm still looking forward to seeing Coldplay live, but I'm sad this album doesn't even get close to having the effect ALL their previous albums had on me (including X&Y, which nobody seems to like and I absolutely LOVE together with AROBTTH). I welcome change and experimentation, as long as the results are good and actually work.

[Drew42LP5]

Mylo ratings:

 

Mylo Xyloto 6/10 Too different from the live version

Hurts Like Heaven 6/10 Much better live, they messed it up

Paradise 8/10 Always liked it

Charlie Brown 8.5/10 Very good, I would have preferred the piano part by itself at the end

Us Against the World 8/10 Only negative part, needs more William

MMIX 3/10 Should have just been with ETIAW, not given it's own name

ETIAW 8/10 Much better with other songs, it fits in

Major Minus 7/10 Good, what else can I say?

UFO 7.5/10 Very good song that I want to learn on guitar, loved the Poppyfields ending!

Princess of China 9.5/10 Best song on the album, let's see if they play it live, I think they have to, if it's going to be a single

Up In Flames 8/10 Drums sound better live, but still a good song

A Hopeful Transmission 2.5/10 Sounds too much like MX

DLIBYH 8/10 This song will go up in my ratings after a few more listens. I wish I could hear Chris a little more

Up With the Birds 8/10 A nice album closer

 

All in all, Mylo Xyloto gets an overall rating of:

 

8/10

 

1. Viva

2. MX

3. X&Y

4. AROBTTH

5. Parachutes

[TryWhistlingThis]

I wouldn't agree with the score necessarily, but some excellent points made here :)

 

No worries :)

[Haruka]

MX - 6/10

HLH - 8.5/10

Paradise - 7/10

CB - 10/10

UATW - 8/10

MMIX - 5/10

ETIAW - 10/10

MM - 10/10

UFO - 7/10

POC - 7/10

UIF - 6/10

AHT - 10/10

DLIBYH - 8/10

UWTB - 9/10

 

Mylo Xyloyto - 8/10

great album, short songs though.... :(