Just passing by to say whether MOTS is an underwhelming album or not we still can respect the band instead of writing them off, like seriously, I didn't saw anything particularly awful here but some fans are acting more like haters. Besides, did you guys expected Everyday Life after AHFOD? No, no one did! Let's just hope Vol.2 is better, I personally think it will since there's a side-project nature to it.

Like many i'm not a fan of Max Martin work but i would really like the band to produce an album with Finneas O'Connell

Edited October 16, 20214 yr by thomasPh

1 hour ago, The_Blue_Room said:

Anyone else really annoyed by the over-autotuning of Selena Gomez's voice on LSG? It ruins the song for me, way too distracting

Nope

4 hours ago, HowCouldIForget said:

I sense an overwhelming sense of judgment and superiority in your post, even though I don't think that's what you were going for. 

If you don't like electronica then you don't, that's fine. But you don't have to call it a "song" like it isn't actually music. It's not "just synth", as if it doesnt take any talent to play that just because it's not a piano. I love that little "ting ting ting." It actually reminds me a lot of the song for Star City in Diddy Kong Racing. The guitar parts are melodic and well mixed with everything else. Not dissonant or overpowering, not underused either. It's one of my favorite uses of guitars on the album, even though it's not traditional per se. Like someone else said, the vocals at the end are haunting and compelling. It's such an interesting and nuanced progression, as someone who listens to music like this. Jon did such a great job mixing this track.

Like I said earlier, Yellow and Fix You are not terribly different from a lot of alternative rock songs made from that time even though I personally love them. In fact, people have claimed striking similarities between Fix You and a lesser known track by Elbow. 

Who decides that a song "doesn't mean anything?" I hate Magic's lyrics but that also doesn't mean there aren't people who like it's simplicity and relate to it. And SJLT's best quality is the lyrics, it's the music that brings in down, I think. Regardless, SJLT was #2 on the charts in the US and My Universe is currently #1. You can say it will be forgotten because you don't like it (and I don't really either) but opinions are subjective and no one knows what will be remembered twenty years from now. 

I realize I'm doing a lot of philosophy here in this thread haha

Of course everyone have its own opinion. Its what we do here.

For me most of the album are bad. Maybe others like the style of the songs, its ok, but not me.

I would like to write more, but my poor english dont allow me to do that xD

But we have to think that if there are some bad critics in this forum (when with El all we like it) and most of the reviews are very agressive with the album and suspend it with califications below the 5, maybe that is for some reason. Its easy to see I think.

Being a Coldplay fan since 2002, I have never felt this underwhelmed and un moved by a Coldplay release as MOTSV1.  Even AHFOD had moments that showed the musical strength the band possesses. This album sounded like a horrible attempt at R&B pop top 40 radio. The only songs that were done well:

HP

INFINITY SIGN

COLORATURA *sadly this is possibly Coldplay’s best song on their most hollow shallow and frankly underwhelming album.

Full of disappointment.

37 minutes ago, KenNelsonsGhost said:

Being a Coldplay fan since 2002, I have never felt this underwhelmed and un moved by a Coldplay release as MOTSV1.  Even AHFOD had moments that showed the musical strength the band possesses. This album sounded like a horrible attempt at R&B pop top 40 radio. The only songs that were done well:

HP

INFINITY SIGN

COLORATURA *sadly this is possibly Coldplay’s best song on their most hollow shallow and frankly underwhelming album.

Full of disappointment.

You didn't like Humankind?

 

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (9.7)

A Rush of Blood to the Head (9.5)

Parachutes (9.2)

Mylo Xyloto (9.1)

Everyday Life (9.0)

Music of the Spheres (8.5)

X&Y (8.3)

A Head Full of Dreams (7.2)

Ghost Stories (6.0)

 

And I do think that's where MotS will be. Can't see it higher than 8.7 or lower than 8.3. AHFoD would probably be a 7.7 or 7.8 if the production on songs like Up&Up and Amazing Day were reasonable. Overall, not a perfect album and I do wish there were more guitars but pleasantly surprised. ? Love the Jon Hopkins influences, as well. And you can bet I will be doing everything I can to hear this album live. Especially Coloratura, Infinity Sign, Humankind and People of the Pride. 

Edited October 16, 20214 yr by HowCouldIForget

I already came to terms with the fact that Coldplay are going through a decline, which is normal for most artists and bands once they start getting old. Artists with high integrity tend to be the exception, and there are others like The Killers who seem to get better with each release. Analyzing Coldplay's long career retrospectively, it becomes more clear to me that they peaked with Viva La Vida, and they weren't able to be as prolific and creative ever since. I'm not expecting that much for their next LPs really, but it would be interesting to see if they will continue to make music with this artistic approach (chasing trends, doing collabs with popstars, targeting a young audience, etc.). If this becomes the case, then I'm afraid their worst album is yet to come.  

I’m not giving up on Coldplay. I loved GS, I loved EL, I love Coloratura, and both MX and AHFOD have grown on me over the years. They still have it in them to create amazing music. But they also have a need or desire to create chart friendly pop music that packs out stadiums. So Coldplay are gonna go back and forth, that’s just the way they are now. 
 

That said, I hope the near-universal backlash MOTS has received makes them re-evaluate their approach for Vol. 2 (or whatever LP10 ends up being)

The thing is there was a near-universal backlash on Everyday Life as well, I clearly remember the wave of hate when it leaked a week before the release or so. Reading between the lines on social media, it seems that fans think it's actually great? 

To me it feels like this has been happening with every album since about Viva. The classic whining of people who want the band to return to something they've been doing 20 years ago, and then those who find at least a couple of songs on the record to listen to, because there's always a big variety. 

I'm not saying this is their best work, but MOTS has its highlights. It really reminds me of Ghost Stories in the sense that it also felt like a short album and I could only pick a few songs to listen to on repeat. (Though GS had a better flow and a clear common theme)

You just can't please everyone, and the band is fully aware of that so they're doing whatever they want to do. That's what I love about them. If they hadn't, we would probably have them stuck in the old days trying to replicate the four albums and they certainly wouldn't be where they are now, selling out stadiums and shit.

Sometimes I think that the fans don't even know what they want, and it's just annoying and makes the community look toxic.

And it hurts like so. (Sorry I had to)

23 minutes ago, GarbageOffice said:

The thing is there was a near-universal backlash on Everyday Life as well, I clearly remember the wave of hate when it leaked a week before the release or so. Reading between the lines on social media, it seems that fans think it's actually great? 

To me it feels like this has been happening with every album since about Viva. The classic whining of people who want the band to return to something they've been doing 20 years ago, and then those who find at least a couple of songs on the record to listen to, because there's always a big variety. 

I'm not saying this is their best work, but MOTS has its highlights. It really reminds me of Ghost Stories in the sense that it also felt like a short album and I could only pick a few songs to listen to on repeat. (Though GS had a better flow and a clear common theme)

You just can't please everyone, and the band is fully aware of that so they're doing whatever they want to do. That's what I love about them. If they hadn't, we would probably have them stuck in the old days trying to replicate the four albums and they certainly wouldn't be where they are now, selling out stadiums and shit.

Sometimes I think that the fans don't even know what they want, and it's just annoying and makes the community look toxic.

And it hurts like so. (Sorry I had to)

Love your take, I agree 100 %. I love that the band touched base on fans wanting them to sound like they did 20 years ago on the MOTS Spotify storyline. 20 years is a long time…. Change will happen.

Edited October 16, 20214 yr by sa_spurs_tx

I just can't help it. Even though there are some songs that I would normally never listen to, I just can't be really objective when it comes to Coldplay. I love this band too much. These whole new worlds they created, the interviews, the positive attitude of the band. Yep, love is blindness.

So this album makes me happy. New music, new songs, and as always, the best, most beautiful singing voice in the world! (When it's not pitched ?)

Oh, anyone else having trouble downloading the digital download that comes with the vinyl? I wanted to download it this morning, but it says: Your redemption code hasn't been recognised or is no longer valid. ?

Edited October 16, 20214 yr by Bauk

I don’t want music that sounds like what they were doing 20 years ago. Coloratura came out this year, Everyday Life less than two years ago. I want stuff that sounds like what they’re capable of doing now, and they’re clearly capable of a lot better than the bulk of MOTS. 

3 hours ago, Famous Old Painter said:

I’m not giving up on Coldplay. I loved GS, I loved EL, I love Coloratura, and both MX and AHFOD have grown on me over the years. They still have it in them to create amazing music. But they also have a need or desire to create chart friendly pop music that packs out stadiums. So Coldplay are gonna go back and forth, that’s just the way they are now. 
 

That said, I hope the near-universal backlash MOTS has received makes them re-evaluate their approach for Vol. 2 (or whatever LP10 ends up being)

You say near-universal backlash but

Metacritic 

Music of the Spheres- 57

AHFoD- 60

Ghost Stories- 61

Now it's still the worst rated but I am betting there are more reviews that will change that score up or down. And it's really not the lowest by that much. They didn't seem concerned by the scores for those other two albums. 

Why hello everyone!  

I can't believe we're finally here! MOTS is out!!!   I listened to it about 5 times I think yesterday. They've done it again, they put out a truly surprising record.  What stands out is how bold it is, they've made bold choices and therefore it is only normal that opinions are divided. 

The flaws imo:

I do think the flow is less optimal than usual, which is a surprise because that's truly something they have mastered for a while now, a signature of their albums. I do think also that depending on the platform/version you listen to, there are lots of differences, I've read lots of different comments about that. It's also an album that feels too short, like a big EP with transitions and en epic finale. It's missing one or two full length regular songs.  Also it's literally 2 seconds short of 42 minutes. I'd like to know who's responsible for that.

The tracklisting is a bit off as well - why put Let Somebody go before Human Heart ? It's just weird.

The mix also forgets Jonny but I am hopeful for a live album to come out after/during the tour to really let him shine - we know from the first live performances that his contributions to the new songs are, as always, full of great ideas and just brilliant. I do understand them wanting to be bolder in where the songs lead and therefore perhaps having to go away from their core in order to do so. But Jonny is too good to be silenced.  

Let Somebody Go is a skip for me, it just doesn't do much for me, i don't feel the band really being fully committed to it somehow. Not a good idea as a single either I think. But i've seen lots of people actually enjoying it so that's great!!!

That's about it for me regarding the things that kind of bother me.

Now onto the great stuff!  

The Live potential of that album. My oh my!!!!   I see it in the way as AHFOD, or Mylo for lots of people when it came out. You may not see it as a great album for now if you're not a fan of the mix or the production choices overall. But there are many tracks, more than I had anticipated, here, that are reminiscent of concerts or straight up made for the tour (HP, Humankind, POTP, MU, Infinity, Coloratura). They will likely become iconic live moments and that will make the abum experience much deeper.

I love how they are just being bolder and bolder with each album. This is just as bold as EL but in the complete other direction musically - which was to be anticipated of course. On first listen I was genuinely suprised by songs like Humankind, Beautiful (lol screw that dumb title) or Infinity sign (do NOT get me started on this ICONIC track!!!!) or POTP, even after seeing it live on Taratata. And while I do not find the transitions to be so great, they do make for a more interesting experience.

An interesting aspect of MOTS vol1 is how it seems to actually reference previous Coldplay work. There's Infinity sign of course which directly samples their own concert. But Alien Choir is also VERY Fix You. I remember the first time hearing MOTS the intro I thought it was AIMH. And Coloratura feels like the fully finished potential of MTM. It's very cool.

And when the lyrics lack depth or inspiration, they make up for it with really cool hooks in the melody (Humankind, the B song). I dare you not to have the B song stuck in your head at some point. It's impossible

Coloratura really shines through as the most epic, best track since DAAHF for me. The entire album is worth it just for this track. It is Coldplay at their best, in every single aspect.

Overall I think the album has real shiny, brilliant, incredible moments of epicness. It is uneven, yes, but it's another big optimistic giant mess with an incredible variety of genres and layers and it is a wildly entertaining ride. Like AHFOD, I'm not sure I'll listen to it much as an album after the era, but I will definitely have some strong attachment to particular songs, and that group will go bigger once I get to experience the tour.

Finally I would also like to point out that most artists of their scales who have recently been making a comeback.....are doing the exact same thing they've always done. It's working commercially but it's frankly uninspiring. I'm really proud of Coldplay for going their own way, for standing out. It is what makes them special and timeless.

My favourite songs so far : Coloratura, Infinity sign, Human heart. I think those will stand the test of time for my ears and heart.  

I'm going to post in each thread now ok see you   

11 minutes ago, Famous Old Painter said:

I don’t want music that sounds like what they were doing 20 years ago. Coloratura came out this year, Everyday Life less than two years ago. I want stuff that sounds like what they’re capable of doing now, and they’re clearly capable of a lot better than the bulk of MOTS. 

Yes, exactly. As they said, old stuff is there for people to listen to. That's fine. We don't necessarily want another Parachutes or AROBTTH. They can experiment with new sounds and new ways to make music and still do it better.

20 minutes ago, Coeurli said:

Why hello everyone!  

I can't believe we're finally here! MOTS is out!!!   I listened to it about 5 times I think yesterday. They've done it again, they put out a truly surprising record.  What stands out is how bold it is, they've made bold choices and therefore it is only normal that opinions are divided. 

The flaws imo:

I do think the flow is less optimal than usual, which is a surprise because that's truly something they have mastered for a while now, a signature of their albums. I do think also that depending on the platform/version you listen to, there are lots of differences, I've read lots of different comments about that. It's also an album that feels too short, like a big EP with transitions and en epic finale. It's missing one or two full length regular songs.  Also it's literally 2 seconds short of 42 minutes. I'd like to know who's responsible for that.

The tracklisting is a bit off as well - why put Let Somebody go before Human Heart ? It's just weird.

The mix also forgets Jonny but I am hopeful for a live album to come out after/during the tour to really let him shine - we know from the first live performances that his contributions to the new songs are, as always, full of great ideas and just brilliant. I do understand them wanting to be bolder in where the songs lead and therefore perhaps having to go away from their core in order to do so. But Jonny is too good to be silenced.  

Let Somebody Go is a skip for me, it just doesn't do much for me, i don't feel the band really being fully committed to it somehow. Not a good idea as a single either I think. But i've seen lots of people actually enjoying it so that's great!!!

That's about it for me regarding the things that kind of bother me.

Now onto the great stuff!  

The Live potential of that album. My oh my!!!!   I see it in the way as AHFOD, or Mylo for lots of people when it came out. You may not see it as a great album for now if you're not a fan of the mix or the production choices overall. But there are many tracks, more than I had anticipated, here, that are reminiscent of concerts or straight up made for the tour (HP, Humankind, POTP, MU, Infinity, Coloratura). They will likely become iconic live moments and that will make the abum experience much deeper.

I love how they are just being bolder and bolder with each album. This is just as bold as EL but in the complete other direction musically - which was to be anticipated of course. On first listen I was genuinely suprised by songs like Humankind, Beautiful (lol screw that dumb title) or Infinity sign (do NOT get me started on this ICONIC track!!!!) or POTP, even after seeing it live on Taratata. And while I do not find the transitions to be so great, they do make for a more interesting experience.

An interesting aspect of MOTS vol1 is how it seems to actually reference previous Coldplay work. There's Infinity sign of course which directly samples their own concert. But Alien Choir is also VERY Fix You. I remember the first time hearing MOTS the intro I thought it was AIMH. And Coloratura feels like the fully finished potential of MTM. It's very cool.

And when the lyrics lack depth or inspiration, they make up for it with really cool hooks in the melody (Humankind, the B song). I dare you not to have the B song stuck in your head at some point. It's impossible

Coloratura really shines through as the most epic, best track since DAAHF for me. The entire album is worth it just for this track. It is Coldplay at their best, in every single aspect.

Overall I think the album has real shiny, brilliant, incredible moments of epicness. It is uneven, yes, but it's another big optimistic giant mess with an incredible variety of genres and layers and it is a wildly entertaining ride. Like AHFOD, I'm not sure I'll listen to it much as an album after the era, but I will definitely have some strong attachment to particular songs, and that group will go bigger once I get to experience the tour.

Finally I would also like to point out that most artists of their scales who have recently been making a comeback.....are doing the exact same thing they've always done. It's working commercially but it's frankly uninspiring. I'm really proud of Coldplay for going their own way, for standing out. It is what makes them special and timeless.

My favourite songs so far : Coloratura, Infinity sign, Human heart. I think those will stand the test of time for my ears and heart.  

I'm going to post in each thread now ok see you   

Where you say "The mix forgets Jonny" is interesting to me. Because it's not like GS where the guitar in songs like AiMH and Another's Arms is quieter than it should be, or on AHFoD where in Everglow it's just taken out for the most part, on Up&Up where the second single is overtracked by the vocals and everything else, or in Amazing Day where it's just very poorly mixed and sounds distorted. 

I don't feel like the mixing is the problem, more that he just doesn't play that much on MotS period. 

Edited October 16, 20214 yr by HowCouldIForget

7 hours ago, harrisonrules said:

 

This now sounds like an opening and closing song at the same ?

3 minutes ago, HowCouldIForget said:

I don't feel like the mixing is the problem, more that he just doesn't play that much on MotS period. 

Listening to the set from the London gig last night, the mix really upped the volume on Jonny even on the new songs, and to me it felt like I was finally hearing him. So I do think he's there more than what we hear on the album!

7 hours ago, harrisonrules said:

 

This was bound to happen, but frankly this mashup is awful. It's just 2 songs played at the same time. The timing gets completely messed up later on. 

39 minutes ago, Coeurli said:

I am hopeful for a live album to come out after/during the tour

The same, I think that some songs on the album don't express their full potential in the studio version, so it would be interesting a live album. Of course it wouldn't compensate for some flaws of MOTS, but maybe for others it could help. I have in many cases enjoyed more their live albums than the studio ones actually

Edited October 16, 20214 yr by only.your.imagination

1 hour ago, Famous Old Painter said:

I don’t want music that sounds like what they were doing 20 years ago. Coloratura came out this year, Everyday Life less than two years ago. I want stuff that sounds like what they’re capable of doing now, and they’re clearly capable of a lot better than the bulk of MOTS. 

1 hour ago, Famous Old Painter said:

I don’t want music that sounds like what they were doing 20 years ago. Coloratura came out this year, Everyday Life less than two years ago. I want stuff that sounds like what they’re capable of doing now, and they’re clearly capable of a lot better than the bulk of MOTS. 

THIS! 

And how come other artists are able to stick to their sound and genre and stay succesfull? Why shouldn't we be allowed to complain If we feel that the music doesn't sound like we know it can sound like?

Well, someone tried to mix Life Is Beautiful with Infinity Sign. While I appreciate the effort, I couldn't help but laugh out loud at 2:17 and 2:38. It's about as off as me when I sing inside a car and nobody can hear me lol.