Midnight reviews

[Tash]

Coldplay Ease Into Chilly New Track 'Midnight'

The group premiered the video at midnight, Mongolia time

 

With zero context, Coldplay have released a new song, "Midnight."

 

The group has yet to announce a new album or any other release for 2014, and their only concert on the calendar so far is an appearance during South by Southwest. Instead, they simply tweeted that "something new" would happen at midnight in the time zone local to Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia – and now that they have released the video for "Midnight," it seems even more shrouded in mystery.

 

The clip is dark and chilly, full of black-and-white photo-negative images and what looks like heat-sensitive silhouettes of Coldplay's members ambling through a forest. The song itself is just as chilly.

 

A far cry from the anthemic chorus of their most recent track, "Atlas," which doubled as their contribution to the Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack, "Midnight" is one of the group's most understated singles. For four minutes, the band maintains a slow pulse highlighted by shimmering synthesizers that have more in common with downtempo EDM than Coldplay's piano rock.

 

Frontman Chris Martin intones heavily affected vocals that, at times, resemble early Nineties Peter Gabriel as he sings about darkness, while the synths build throughout the track before a skittery, rave-like keyboard line flits about noisy static.

 

The track closes with Martin asking that a light be left on. Maybe somewhere deep within the effects-heavy murk of his more incoherent lyrics is something that explains just why the song came out at a time local to Ulaanbaatar.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay veers into the mystic on new song 'Midnight'

Is this the British group's new direction?

 

Coldplay takes a bit of a left turn in the British band’s new tune, “Midnight.” The trance-like tune features Chris Martin’s heavily-processed vocals layered upon a bed of a spacey beats. The band dropped the song with no warning at, appropriately enough, midnight. It’s the first new music from Coldplay since “Atlas,” written for “Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”

 

Sounding more like a song from Peter Gabriel or Bon Iver, “Midnight” follows no traditional song structure, instead relying on a certain ambient charm to make its case.

 

The lyrics are fairly indecipherable other than “leave a light on,” at the end. The track’s video, a druggy negative-image movie of the band frolicking in the woods above the lights of Los Angeles directed by Mary Wigmore, certainly doesn’t provide any illumination.

 

Given its mysterious appearance and lack of any attendant press release from the band’s usually reliable press team, it’s unclear if this is a one-off, a trial balloon testing the band’s new direction, or the first single from would would be Coldplay’s sixth studio album and followup to 2011’s “Mylo Xyloto.”

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay’s New Single Sounds Like a Bad Parody of Bon Iver

 

Coldplay has never been a subtle group. When they’re at their best, they make big, dumb arena rock songs that can be truly catchy and even great. When they’re at their worst, they make bad parodies of same—self-serious artsy tunes that aim for the heights of Radiohead or earlier U2 but nosedive straight into a teardrop waterfall of sappiness.

 

“Midnight,” the band’s new single, falls into the latter category, but the band it apes is a different one: Bon Iver. Chris Martin is only rarely intelligible as he sings into his vocoder (“In the darkness, thumm the thumm,” go the garbled lyrics, as far as this blogger can make it out), before a wash of synths takes the band away to a rave populated by woodland animals.

 

The video doesn’t do them any favors. At some point in the mid-2000s, someone seems to have told Martin he could dance (he seems to fancy himself in the twitchy, just-feel-it mold of Thom Yorke), and here he twirls and then waves his arms around in a move that’s perhaps best described as “the Angels in the Outfield.” By the time he breaks his twirls long enough to make birdy-birds with his hands (3:30), any chance at taking this song and its lush, warm production seriously has flown out the window.

 

link

[Tash]

COLDPLAY DEBUT NEW SINGLE “MIDNIGHT”

 

Following a relatively quiet 2013, earlier today Coldplay returned to the limelight by unveiling a new single, titled “Midnight.” You can check out the track’s official music video after the break.

 

Mary Wigmore, the godmother of vocalist Chris Martin’s daughter, Apple, directed the clip, which is shot in infrared and runs just over five minutes long. It has not yet been confirmed if this newest effort will be featured on the group’s sixth album, which is presently in the works.

 

The atmospheric tune is a stark divergent from the band’s previously released material, and as many media outlets have began to point out, could easily pass for some lost track off of Bon Iver’s 2011 self-titled LP. I dig it a lot.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay Almost Unrecognisable In Surprise Single 'Midnight': Is Sixth Album Release Imminent?

Coldplay pull a "Beyoncé" and y'know what, it's not bad at all.

 

Coldplay have suddenly and unexpectedly released a brand new single, 'Midnight,' and accompanying music video which launched on YouTube today. The first signs of an announcement came when the British band wrote the cryptic tweet "Something new at 0:00 in Ulaanbaatar #midnight PH," seemingly referring to the capital city of Mongolia.

 

It didn't take fans long to work out how to research time zones to learn when to check Twitter again for more news from the band. Sure enough, a couple of hours afterwards, the band tweeted: "Here is the video for our new song, Midnight. [video=youtube_share;BQeMxWjpr-Y]

" and lo! the people were given 'Midnight,' Coldplay's new single.

 

Or at least we think it's Coldplay: gone are the crashing pianos, guitar and soaring vocals of the Brit rockers' more famous ballads, replaced with a pared back, minimalist electronic song with an unnerving infra-red effect video by the director Mary Wigmore.

 

Lead singer Chris Martin's distinctive tone is still there but he sings softly and plaintively with a vocoder distortion effect, evoking the indie artist Bon Iver. At over five minutes long, the song is an intriguing choice for a follow-up to 2011's Mylo Xyloto and takes its time to build from tinkling keyboards to pulsing, climactic synths.

 

The video shows the band playing around, posing and dancing in a forest whilst the wildness of trees and foxes surround them. Presumably shot with some kind of heat-detecting camera, the clip is coloured in black and white, lending a dreamlike winterscape effect.

 

Almost trance-like in nature, the song sees the four-piece embark on a different sound, recalling artists such as Caribou and The Knife with the fragile synthwork. It has been a long time since the rockers, who formed during their university days, have been considered at the fore of contemporary British music but their sixth album - if that's what 'Midnight' is a prelude to - could reverse that.

 

As the mystical song tails of and the synths fade away, we're actually left with goosebumps; could Coldplay have returned to form? The song received its radio debut on BBC Radio 6 and hardly felt out of place alongside the station's eclectic indie playlist. It's impossible to tell whether 'Midnight' will be a one-off single or whether it will be part of a larger cache of similarly minimalist tunes but we're looking forward to more.

 

link

[Tash]

Watch Coldplay go electro in the video for new single ‘Midnight’

 

Coldplay quietly dropped a new single this morning called “Midnight.” The minimalist electro-pop — think Bon Iver remixed by Kraftwerk — represents a turnaround from the anthemic rock the band was peddling on its last few albums and the accompanying black and white video, shot in the woods by director Mary Wigmore, is the very definition of low budget.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay Releases New Single and Video

 

Coldplay released a song and a music video for their single “Midnight,” from their upcoming follow-up to 2011′s Mylo Xyloto. Last year, the band produced an original song, “Atlas” for the film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

 

“Midnight” represents a sonic shift from the band’s previous, more rock-oriented sounds. It features sparse instrumentals and processed vocal dubs, and a atmospheric, minimalist feel. The video was directed by Mary Wigmore, who is lead singer Chris Martin’s daughter’s godmother.

 

“Midnight” was unannounced, and no details about the band’s upcoming sixth studio album have been released.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay release new song Midnight and preview sixth album sound

 

There seems to be a current trend for releasing new material without any prior warning and Coldplay have followed suit with the release of new track Midnight, imaginatively released 24th February 2014 at midnight, Ulaanbaatar time.

 

The sound marks a definite change of musical direction from the sonic and arena-filling 2011 album Mylo Xyloto, gone is the rainbow of sound and in is slow-paced, sophisticated, brooding atmospherics. The minimalist sound and vocoder vocals have already gained comparisons with Bon Iver, Radiohead and Imogen Heap’s Hide and Seek; it also started speculation over the producer, there is something very Eno about the sound! This comes as a surprise after recent rumours of Paul Epworth taking the producer’s reins for the forthcoming record.

 

The new track is accompanied by a video directed by Mary Wigmore, who previously directed the promo for The Hardest Part and is godmother to Martin’s daughter Apple. The video, not dissimilar in style to Radiohead promos, features the band meandering around a forest in inverted black and white with some foxes. Could this be a taster for a forthcoming album or a standalone track? Whatever the answer this song has certainly got the fans and haters talking.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay go full Bon Iver on new song 'Midnight'

 

The clock struck "Midnight" for Coldplay, and then the UK rockers released a new track and music video. Today (Feb. 25), Chris Martin and co. dropped "Midnight" on its official website.

 

Moving away from its piano-driven rock roots, Coldplay have gone and experimental for the new song. And, no, this isn't Viva La Vida experimental. This is some truly new stuff.

 

With heavy vocal layering effects on Martin's voice and heavily synthesized electronic instrumentation, this track is somehow still Coldplay while still sounding nothing like the band has ever even touched before. It's almost a bit too reminiscent of Imogen Heap or, more so, Bon Iver. With a few more guitars, this song would be a dead-ringer for "Holocene." The final, completing touch for Coldplay's woodsy transformation is the music video, which features a negatively shot Coldplay parading through the woods. There are even foxes!

 

Where "Midnight" kind of falls flat is through the highly repetitive beat behind it. Simply put: "Midnight" can get sleepy at times, and not in the way that old school Coldplay fans might enjoy. It's just a tad bit dull.

 

So, even though it's nice to find a band evolving its sound and continuing to grow, it's interesting that this is the twist Coldplay has chosen to take. Like, can you imagine hearing "Midnight" in an arena? It just wouldn't work. It's a coffee house tune, man.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay release surprise new single 'Midnight'

The British powerhouse artists posted a link on their Twitter feed at the stroke of midnight on Tuesday

 

In a surprise move last night ( or morning if you may call it! ), the multi-award winning British artists did a Beyonce and released their first single, after the hugely successful 2011 album Mylo Xyloto.

 

Aptly named Midnight the video link was released on their twitter feed at the stroke of midnight on the 25th of February.

 

Dreamy, atmospheric and hauntingly ambient, the tune is reminiscent of American indie folk artist Bon Iver's music and is a marked departure from the band's usual fare. Speckled with chiming synths, Chris Martin's characteristic wistful vocals are weaved in with hushed undertones building up to a crescendo of sounds before sobering down once again at the end.

 

The black-and-white video directed by Mary Wigmore (who made the band's The Hardest Part visuals) has the band members - Guy Berryman, Will Champion, Johnny Buckland and Martin - appear in negatives throughout the song, finishing off with a lingering glimpse of their faces in the last clip.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay Drop Surprise New Track + Video, ‘Midnight’

 

Coldplay had a big midnight surprise for fans Tuesday (Feb. 25): a brand-new song and video, ‘Midnight’!

 

Taking their cue from BFF Beyonce and her wildly successful December surprise album, the Brit rockers released the atmospheric track with no advance warning or hype. Their Twitter account gave the only hint that something special was on its way, arriving at midnight Ulaanbaatar time (that’s in Mongolia, for those of you keeping track):

 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Something new at 0:00 in Ulaanbaatar <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23midnight&src=hash">#midnight</a> PH</p>— Coldplay (@coldplay) <a href="https://twitter.com/coldplay/statuses/438265433830203393">February 25, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The slow-building song tops out at slightly more than five minutes, with a video that’s equally moody and evocative. The forest-set clip, directed by longtime friend and collaborator Mary Wigmore, is shot mostly in black and white, with negative images of the band and wolves. (Thankfully, not together.)

 

There’s been no word on whether ‘Midnight’ is the first taste fans are getting from the band’s next album, or if it’s a standalone track. More than two years have passed since Coldplay’s ‘Mylo Xyloto,’ and rumors have them releasing their sixth studio album some time in spring 2014. The most recent new music we’ve heard from the band was last fall’s ‘Atlas,’ which appeared on the ‘Hunger Games: Catching Fire‘ soundtrack.

 

Whether or not a new album is indeed on the way, the band is certainly becoming more active. They are due to perform at the iTunes Festival at SXSW on March 11. The invite-only Austin, Texas, event will be streamed live and on-demand for free.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay drop surprise 'Midnight' single and video: Watch it here!

 

Let’s get this out of the way first: When a big artist comes up with a surprise release seemingly out of nowhere, can we agree not to call it “Pulling a Beyoncé”? That sounds alternately dirty and painful.

 

From here on out, whenever a group like Coldplay drops a brand new single and music video on our doorstep—as they did today with the release of “Midnight”—let’s just call it a “Stealth Drop” or a “Surprise Party” or “Throwing the Old Barkley.” Anything but the creepy “Pulling a Beyoncé.”

 

Anyway, “Midnight” is a very moody piece of business that relies a lot on keyboard hums and electronic squiggles. It takes a few listens to set in, but one thing that really stands out is the vocal performance of Chris Martin, who has been gradually honing his instrument into quite a soulful thing (though it’s ironic that there’s also a ton of vocal effects on “Midnight”).

 

The video, directed by Mary Wigmore (who also directed the band’s clip for “The Hardest Part” and helmed the excellent documentary Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin and the Farm Midwives), matches the mood of the tune, with a lot of negative space and some ominous wolves.

 

It’s unclear whether or not “Midnight” is a one-off or if it’s the first shot from an all-out new album assault. The latter would make sense, as they’re about due for a fresh collection of songs (their last album, Mylo Xyloto, came out in 2011, though we last heard them last fall with “Atlas”), and they’ll be headlining the iTunes Festival at SXSW in Austin on March 11. The band doesn’t have anything else planned and there’s no other news at the moment, though perhaps there will be a brand new album and a massive tour when they throw the old Barkley.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay's surprise new song is bonkers

 

Tree climbing, rain dancing, singer Chris Martin smearing mud on his naked chest; Coldplay's surprise new video has all the markings of a band that have lost the plot.

 

The chart-toppers slipped new song Midnight online with no warning for fans - much like Beyonce did last year.

 

The track is atmospheric, with more than a nod to Grammy Award-winning singer Bon Iver, and what sounds like a lot of auto-tunning. It's a big step away from their over-the-top Mylo Xyloto album released in 2011.

 

But the biggest head-scratcher has to be the video released with the song. Shot in black and white, and using a heat-seeking camera, it shows the band in the middle of nowhere, climbing up trees, howling like wolves and Martin dancing while the rest of the group look on.

 

The video was directed by Mary Wigmore, who also shot Coldplay's clip for The Hardest Part. She is the godmother of Martin's daughter with Gwyneth Paltrow, Apple.

 

It's uncertain whether the song is the first single off the band's sixth album, or a part of another other project. Last year Coldplay wrote and recorded the single Atlas for the upcoming Hunger Games movie.

 

link

[Tash]

COLDPLAY'S SINGLE "MIDNIGHT," PLUS NEW VIDEO IS PUZZLING, A TOTAL TRIP

 

Hey, it looks like Coldplay is back in action after taking somewhat of a hiatus to perfect their beard and wasitcoast symmetry… or you know, write new music. It also seems like while they were away they were listening to a lot of Bon Iver as Coldplay’s new single and video “Midnight” features similarly moody and ethereal motifs. The video is directed by actress Mary Wigmore, who also directed the band’s video for “The Hardest Part.” She’s also the godmother to Apple, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow’s daughter. So you know, they kept it all in the family with this secret release.

 

The video is altogether a bit of a mind melt. There’s lots of night-vision-looking shots of the band wandering and dancing in the woods. There’s also a mysterious wolf, which at times, sort of looks like one of those digital animations you see on a late night infomercial that ask, “Have you always wanted to be an artist?” It certainly evokes the title of the track as well as the late 90s horror phenomenon The Blair Witch Project.

 

Truth be told, “Midnight” kind of a snooze-fest. But I suppose after Beyonce dropped her now infamous secret visual album, any sort of “secret” release will just sort of pale in comparison. However, Coldplay have created some visually stunning pieces in the past like “Viva La Vida.” And when they broke on to the scene with the simplistic take for “Yellow,” they let the song take center stage while still creating something wholly memorable.

 

I’m still trying to find what’s most gripping about the “Midnight” video. Is it the shoulder dancing and hand gestures that just look like every dude on the lawn in a Phish concert? Or what about the time lapse of a seemingly anywhere city in the background? What they’ve created is more suited for visual accompaniment at a live show rather than a stand-alone piece of art. But hey, it’s a secret video for a still-in-question upcoming album. “Midnight” could very well be a piece of a larger puzzle.

 

Let’s just hope it’s not a subliminal piece of advertising for some new diet fad by Gwyneth Paltrow about eating sticks or whatever falls on the forest floor.

 

link

[Tash]

Taking Tips From Beyonce? Coldplay Release Surprise Music Video Just Like The Pop Diva!

 

Coldplay might be taking some tips from Beyoncé, as the band has just surprisingly released a completely new music video, similar to what Beyoncé did with her surprise album.

 

The video, for their new single called Midnight, suddenly appeared on Tuesday without any prior indication that the group was recording a new album or filming a new music video.

 

The song seems to be taking the band into a new style of music, as it has a somewhat electronic sound to it.

 

The video itself has a simple concept. It shows all four group members in the forest; however, they are only seen under an infrared style camera.

 

They are even seen climbing the trees as their bodies move to the beat of the music.

 

Perhaps the video is meant to look like it is taking place at midnight, as there is also some imagery of the city at night. Cars are seen speeding down the highway while lights from buildings are flashing.

 

The last song that Coldplay released was Atlas, which was on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay's New Song 'Midnight' Doesn't Sound Like a Coldplay Song

 

When Apple announced that Coldplay would be making a stop at their iTunes Festival at South by Southwest this March, people figured it meant there would be new music from the British rockers soon enough. But no one anticipated that it would arrive this week, nor that it would be quite so polarizing.

 

Coldplay's surprise new single "Midnight" dropped at the stroke of midnight in Mongolia (?!), accompanied by a mysterious black-and-white video. It's a far cry from the anthemic stadium rock that hipsters love to hate — and it's not clear how everyone feels about it, just yet.

 

The austere track sees Chris Martin experimenting with a vocoder, which of course means that certain indie rock comparisons are unavoidable. Consequence of Sound speculated that the track may be featured on a "Justin Vernon tribute album," and Slate called it a "bad parody of Bon Iver."

 

The fans are down with it, though — even if they can't quite tell what Martin's singing about.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Am I the only one who doesn't know what the heck they're saying? <a href="https://twitter.com/coldplay">@Coldplay</a> Lyrics please. <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23midnight&src=hash">#midnight</a> <a href="http://t.co/GR37K2GHWj">http://t.co/GR37K2GHWj</a></p>— Desi J (@Desi_J) <a href="https://twitter.com/Desi_J/statuses/438430712010899456">February 25, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>I want to tweet some lyrics to midnight but all I hear is "iiiiin the daaaaarkness"</p>— Look At The Stars♡ (@mx_coldplay_mx) <a href="https://twitter.com/mx_coldplay_mx/statuses/438364825886785537">February 25, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Im loving the musiC in <a href="https://twitter.com/coldplay">@Coldplay</a> new song midnight but i Can't understand what Chris is saying but the video is trippy</p>— Teshurah (@_brooklyntooWVU) <a href="https://twitter.com/_brooklyntooWVU/statuses/438424476783374336">February 25, 2014</a></blockquote>

<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay Release Surprise Music Video Just Like The Pop Diva!

Surprise!

 

Coldplay might be taking some tips from Beyoncé, as the band has just surprisingly released a completely new music video, similar to what Beyoncé did with her surprise album.

 

The video, for their new single called Midnight, suddenly appeared on Tuesday without any prior indication that the group was recording a new album or filming a new music video.

 

The song seems to be taking the band into a new style of music, as it has a somewhat electronic sound to it.

 

The video itself has a simple concept. It shows all four group members in the forest; however, they are only seen under an infrared style camera.

 

They are even seen climbing the trees as their bodies move to the beat of the music.

 

Perhaps the video is meant to look like it is taking place at midnight, as there is also some imagery of the city at night. Cars are seen speeding down the highway while lights from buildings are flashing.

 

The last song that Coldplay released was Atlas, which was on The Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay Surprises Fans by Secretly Releasing New Song "Midnight" and Accompanying Music Video

 

It's official: Beyoncé has started a new trend in the music biz (somehow we're not surprised).

 

With just one single tweet alerting fans that "something new" would be coming at midnight in local Ulaanbaatar time (the capital of Mongolia, in case you were unaware), Coldplay released their latest single "Midnight" as well as the accompanying music video, which will presumably be featured on their yet-to-be-announced sixth studio album.

 

"Here is the video for our new song, Midnight…," the British rockers captioned the clip, which was directed by Mary Wigmore, who also directed the 2005 video for "The Hardest Part" and is an incredibly close friend of lead vocalist Chris Martin's wife Gwyneth Paltrow.

 

The moody music video, which is just over five minutes long, features black and white photo-negative images of the bandmembers slowly moving through a forest as Martin's soft vocals croon in the background.

 

Images of colorful city lights begin to flash across the screen as the beat builds in the atmospheric track before the song reaches a more upbeat tempo as the group, still as silhouette images of themselves, dance in the woods while accompanied by wolves.

 

With the exception of the two tweets, no further information has been released, and Coldplay only has one appearance scheduled for 2014 thus far. According to reports, they're expected to play at the iTunes festival in London and at next month's South by Southwest.

 

Coldplay most recently released their tune "Atlas" in August, which was also featured on the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay Releases New Single 'Midnight' and Video

The ethereal track is complimented with a haunting black-and-white music video, directed by Mary Wigmore.

 

Coldplay has unveiled a haunting video for new song "Midnight," an atmospheric track absent of the anthemic rock elements of earlier chart-toppers, but overflowing with hints that Chris Martin and company have been spinning Bon Iver records pretty hard as they prep a sixth studio album.

 

Set primarily in a wooded area and shot in negative exposure, the trippy "Midnight" clip follows the band as they dance around to an airy electro-pop arrangement. You also get glimpses of a wandering wolf along with sped-up cityscapes. The video was directed by Mary Wigmore, the godmother of Martin's daughter Apple with wife Gwyneth Paltrow, and premiered Tuesday on Spiegel Online in Germany.

 

The song's desolate feel and heavy use of vocal overdubs, along with what sounds like a vocoder, feels more Bon Iver or The Knife-like rather than U2 and Radiohead, the group's traditional targets of comparison.

 

Coldplay is readying their first album since 2011's Mylo Xyloto. In August of last year, the band released "Atlas" from the soundtrack of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay Releases Surprise New Song 'Midnight' and Its Video

 

Coldplay surprised fans with the release of a new single and its music video companion. "Midnight", an atmospheric and amniotic electronic track, was released on Tuesday, February 25 together with a haunting video directed by Mary Wigmore.

 

The single is presumably taken from the band's upcoming sixth studio album. Packed with vocal overdubs, the song begins with chiming electronic before building a synth-heavy beat. It is a depart from the rock band's earlier works, and has the Bon Iver feel.

 

The black-and-white music video was shot in negative exposure by Wigmore who directed the band's "The Hardest Part" clip and is godmother to frontman Chris Martin and wife Gwyneth Paltrow's daughter Apple. Viewers get glimpses of the band members playing around in the woods and wolves wandering through.

 

There is no other information about the single. The new album, which will follow 2011's "Mylo Xyloto", is expected to arrive in either May or June this year. The band released single "Atlas" last year for the soundtrack of "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire".

 

link

[Tash]

Is it just us, or does Coldplay's new single sound just like Bon Iver?

 

Coldplay’s latest single ‘Midnight’ isn’t a Bon Iver cover, but it sure sounds like one.

 

There’s the aching, distorted vocals. There’s the portentous lyric sheet featuring lost hopes, “darkness”, “dawn”, “thunder” and “millions … lost from home.” And there’s the video clip visuals that recall that famous winter Justin Vernon spent in a log-cabin getting in touch with all those painful emotions.

 

The single is built over a track producer Jon Hopkins wrote in 2003 and was released at the stroke of midnight Ulaanbaatar time (we’re not making this up) to capture the attention of the lucrative Mongolian market. It’s the band’s first offering since their song ‘Atlas’ which was released as part of last year’s Hunger Games: Catching Fire soundtrack.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay’s ‘Midnight’ Surprises Fans, Hints at Upcoming Album and New Sound

 

Coldplay took fans by surprise with their unheralded release of a new song, ‘Midnight,’ on Feb. 25.

 

The only notice given by the British band was a morning tweet that “something new” would be taking place at midnight in Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.

 

The song has a heavily synthesized, electronic feel, and frontman Chris Martin evokes uncharacteristically unintelligible vocals. It has since been compared with music by American indie band Bon Iver.

 

Directed by Mary Wigmore, the accompanying black-and-white negative-filtered music video sees the band wander a forest, with interspersing shots of a fox and city scape.

 

The song’s release suggests an upcoming studio album, Coldplay’s sixth since Mylo Xyloto (2011), and the new sound hints at the musical direction the band is heading.

 

link

[Tash]

'Sound of mediocrity': what fans say about Coldplay's 'Midnight'

Many impressed with band's new electronic sound

 

Possibly on the advice of frontman Chris Martin's good pal Beyonce, Coldplay dropped a brand new surprise track yesterday (February 25).

 

'Midnight' signifies a marked change in sound for the band, who previously experimented with electronic sounds on 2011's Mylo Xyloto, but have taken it even further with this track. Produced by celebrated electronic musician Jon Hopkins, whose album Immunity was nominated for 2013's Mercury Prize, 'Midnight' is a downtempo, ambient track which has very little in common with any of Coldplay's back catalogue.

 

'Midnight' has been widely compared to Bon Iver thanks to Chris Martin's distorted, high-pitched vocals, and it seems to (mostly) be going down a treat with fans, who praised the band for experimenting.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay debut new track and video for Midnight

 

Coldplay have unveiled the video to a new single called Midnight.

 

Produced by Mercury nominated musician Jon Hopkins, the track marks a more stripped back, low-key and electronic sound for the band.

 

The band, fronted by Chris Martin, have yet to announce details of whether the song will be available to buy.

 

It is thought the track precedes a new album, following 2011's Mylo Xyloto. Martin has promised the record's name will be "much easier to pronounce."

 

All of Coldplay's previous studio albums have gone to number one in the official UK album chart.

 

In the lead up to the announcement of their new single the band tweeted: "Something new at 0:00 in Ulaanbaatar."

 

Ulaanbaatar is the capital city of Mongolia, which is eight hours ahead of GMT.

 

The band also recently announced they will play at the opening night of the first US iTunes festival, on 11 March.

 

The iTunes event, held in London for the last seven years, will be staged alongside the South by Southwest (SXSW) music showcase in Texas.

 

Coldplay's most recent single was Atlas, which features on the soundtrack of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

 

The song was nominated in the best song written for visual media category at this year's Grammy awards.

 

link

[Tash]

Coldplay Pull A Beyoncé And Surprises Fans By Dropping New Single 'Midnight'

 

Coldplay dropped surprise track 'Midnight' with only a cryptic tweet as prior warning.

 

Coldplay have taken a leaf out of Beyoncé's book and released a surprise single with no warning or promotional work. The British rock band dropped the single 'Midnight,' as well as a music video which was launched on their YouTube page.

 

The four-piece first hinted that they were going to release some new material with a cryptic tweet, which read, "Something new at 0:00 in Ulaanbaatar #midnight PH."

 

Only a few hours later at 0:00 in Ulannbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, Coldplay's twitter account posted a link to the new 'Midnight' music video, accompanied by the message, "Here is the video for our new song, Midnight..."

 

Any fans who stayed up late to see the premiere of the video would have been in quite a shock, as the British boys were sporting a very different look in the clip.

 

The gloomy video, which created a cold and unnerving atmosphere, didn't feature any of Coldplay's usual loud vocals, grand pianos or banging instruments, but it showed a soft and mild mannered side to the band.

 

In a very quiet voice, Chris Martin sings over a gentle electronic beat, while the band walk through a dark forest, which is all been filmed in black and white photo-negative images to create an almost trance-like state.

 

The video was directed by Mary Wigmore.

 

The 'Mylo Xyloto' hit makers do not have a scheduled album release for 2014 as of yet, but fans are beginning to assume that 'Midnight' is the first song off their sixth studio album, and it remains to be seen if they will emulate Beyoncé once more and drop an entire album with no warning.

 

However, as Chris Martin and the rest of the band are scheduled to headline the first iTunes Festival held at the annual South by Southwest festival in Austin on March 11th, the new track will create some publicity and buzz around them.

 

link