Won't be released in the US until Monday :cry: This is agony lol but I still wanna wait... only 3 more days to go!

Forgot about this thread. I posted a review in another thread, i'll paste it in here (apologies for double post). I'm definitely glad I held off because each of the songs are intended to be heard as an album rather than merely hand picked. First thing to note, before buying the album, the only songs I listened to were those which were officially released on the band's website

(Paradise/Waterfalls/Minus). I didn't listen to any leaks or even the live versions which have been circulating YouTube for the last few months.

Absolutely love the artwork to the album, I get a choice of two covers!

 

Mylo Xyloto- nice intro

 

Hurts Like Heaven - the first thing I notice with this album is that it's not suited for small speakers or mobile devices. It sounds fantastic on

headphones, but currently i'm playing it again on my iPod Touch (via the built in speaker) and it sounds really messy and loses a lot of the layers.

I've tried different settings but it doesn't improve it much. I know it's not the best way to hear music, but other albums (including Coldplay's) sound

great on mini-speaker. But because the production this time around is at its heaviest, there's just too much noise saturation.

 

Paradise - i like this one, always have. But i'm skeptical about how this will play out live because the production is a major driving force of this

song with the harmonies, strings and synth. I'm guessing Will is going to be playing electronic drums on this? Live drums would drown out the sound

too much for the type of song it is. But it's a great anthem.

 

Charlie Brown - a nice mix of early Coldplay and Viva La Vida (the song). Johnny's electric guitar riff harkens back to something off the Parachutes

album. But, that's where the similarities end to early Coldplay. A great song which I anticipate should translate live and will make a very nice

single for the radio (assuming the band is still concerned about that).

 

Us Against the World - not quite into this one yet. Up until this track the production has been one of the most apparent elements of the

album but not in a way that takes away from the music. It just seems strange to have a song that is now so stripped back and intimate which, up until

now, has been the antithesis to the album's tone. It's just a little too gentle for me as we've heard a lot of this from Coldplay in the past. It's

nice but it's not something i'm always in the mood for.

 

M.M.I.X - i've always been a bit funny with interludes because i've always found it's something that just really belongs on a main track but for some

reason is used instead to add to the track listing. It's especially odd when you can buy the track stand alone off iTunes. But it serves its purpose

as a nice segue to...

 

Every teardrop is a waterfall - the controversial track that introduced us to MX. The use of electronica and synth did surprise me at first but it's

grown on me a lot since and sounds very relevant to the album when heard in the context of the entire body of work.

 

Major Minus - I have always loved this track. It's easily my most listened to track in the leadup to the album. To my dismay, it hasn't been so well

received on the forums. I just can't express how much I like this song enough. It's flawless; musically, lyrically and vocally. This will sound increadible

live. Easily some of Johnny's best guitar work.

 

U.F.O - strangely, unlike Us Against The World, I like this a lot and it first with the album. Sure, it comes across more as a Martin solo piece

 

Princess of China - another track that may not work live. Rhianna, electronic drumming and the saturation of synth kind of does take away from what

the song has to offer. I'm mixed on this at the moment but i'm not a fan of too much post year 2000 music so i'm clearly not a fan of Rhiannon, auto-tune,

contemporary pop or electronica. I admire the desire to step outside of the boundaries, but something is lost in the translation here. Whereas

the duet with Chris Marin and (if I recall the artist's name correctly) Kanye West worked brilliantly and would have been a great coldplay song.

But, with Pricess, there's just a little too much Rhiannon.

 

Up In Flames - this is kind of like a Coldplay meets Massive Attack, mainly the backbeat gives it this feel. But it's mostly familiar Coldplay

territory and by this point of the album, quite welcome. Another potential single.

 

 

A Hopeful Transmission - i'm a little annoyed with this one as it would have made a great full length instrumental, but instead we just get teased.

A shame.

 

 

Don't Let It Break Your Heart - can't get into this one yet, it's not speaking to me.

 

Up With The Birds - not my favourite Coldplay closing track, but nice enough. I haven't got much to say about it just yet.

 

 

Overall, a good Coldplay album. For now, Viva La Vida is my favourite Coldplay album but I certainly prefer Mylo Xyloto to X&Y. After the innovation

we got on the fourth album and its offspring EP, my expectations were obviously pretty high. I wouldn't say Coldplay have stopped inventing or

tweaking their sound or even taken a backstep. I get the impression that while Chris wants the sound of the band to move forward, at the same

he's very self-conscious of what critics and fans will think. He doesn't want to leave anyone behind but he also wants to keep people guessing

with optimism. The transition we're seeing now to me resembles the Help-Rubber Soul-Revolver-Sgt Pepper transition of The Beatles in the sense

that Coldplay is working up to something bigger. The transition in their sound is very methodical on this album in the sense that it doesn't take

a massive leap forward like they did between X&Y and Viva. Next time around i'd love to hear a darker, moodier Coldplay with some atmosphere. While I like

Mylo Xyloto for its exploration of sound, at the same time its done in a way that is decent and relevant to what is popular in the industry right now.

I stress again, that does not make it a bad record but when you take into account the talent of the band and where the album could have gone, you can't

help it wish for just a little bit more.

 

4 out of 5

 

 

So for now its:

 

1. Viva La Vida

 

2. A Rush Of Blood To The Head

 

3. Mylo Xyloto

 

4. Parachutes

 

5. X&Y

 

Don't Let It Break Your Heart - can't get into this one yet, it's not speaking to me.

 

Up With The Birds - not my favourite Coldplay closing track, but nice enough. I haven't got much to say about it just yet.

 

 

I couldn't understand a lot of DLIBYH during the first listenings, it was confusing... but now I love it! it's my favorite, I think you just have to listen to it more times and it will grow a lot, trust me ;) same for Up with the birds

@TryWhistlingThis: Maybe it's time to go watch some live performances of the songs now? You kept speculating how some songs would work live, and I kept thinking as I read "They have, and it works!"

I'm waiting for release day, here in Poland on 24th, so only 2 days left :) I wanna wait because I like to have CD in my hands, headphones on and just listen to it from start till end ;) for me MX premiere is like a special occasion. The same I did with Viva La Vida album, before that I bought previuos albums at once, when all of them already were released.

1 more day for me!!

 

So excited!!!:D

@TryWhistlingThis: Maybe it's time to go watch some live performances of the songs now? You kept speculating how some songs would work live, and I kept thinking as I read "They have, and it works!"

 

I'm more familiar with the album now (up to my fifth listen or so now) so I think I might. I'll put together a playlist on YouTube and have it playing in the background. I'll keep you posted.

Within approx. 12 hours, Mylo Xyloto must be delivered by the postman at my door.. Looking so much forward to hear the songs that I haven't heard yet.. It's half of the album, so I think there's something to look forward to :)

Just got word from Amazon that MX is about 2 hours away from me (in Louisville, Kentucky). I have to work from 10-2 tomorrow morning, so hopefully it will be at my house when I get home (I live 3 minutes away from work, so that's good).

Of all the stuff that I've pre-ordered from Amazon, the earliest anything's arrived was 12:30 PM, and the latest was 4:30 PM I'm hoping for something closer to the middle at least.

 

It honestly feels like Christmas Eve right now.

Just bought the album an hour ago on Itunes and listened to Hurts Like Heaven for the first time ever. I think I'm in love :D

I have only listened to Don't Let it Break Your Heart and Up with the Birds from iTunes streaming... and then obviously what is already out as singles.

@TryWhistlingThis: Maybe it's time to go watch some live performances of the songs now? You kept speculating how some songs would work live, and I kept thinking as I read "They have, and it works!"

 

 

I agree.. when I watched Paradise live in NYC I thought it sounds much better on stage than the single.

I have not listened to any studio versions other than the singles already released, I am so ready to listen to the album! I want it so bad right now!! :D

Omg, it's currently downloading in iTunes right now and it's only 8:35 pm here! I am so excited to hear it

Yeah! it's today, finally :D after the first listening I can say it's amazing, no doubt it's album of the year :D :D

I'm more familiar with the album now (up to my fifth listen or so now) so I think I might. I'll put together a playlist on YouTube and have it playing in the background. I'll keep you posted.

 

Sure :cool: