The song is already growing on me after just a few more listens on repeat. It's not perfect but it's one of Coldplay's better "pop moments" of the last decade or so. And just because this one is clearly aiming to be a massive hit, doesn't mean the entire album is going to sound just like it. We might get spacey songs that are more along the lines of X&Y, kind of like the ethereal sounds of Moving To Mars and All I Can Think About Is You. Maybe even something like ALIENS or Hypnotised. So I'm still hyped for what's next. This is an exciting time.

so no one noticed that "Light Love" is written on the amplifiers... 

The Race and another song seem to be leaked.
 

11 minutes ago, Yasuko said:

The Race and another song seem to be leaked.
 

Another song?

7 minutes ago, harrisonrules said:

Another song?

Yeah it's got a title I've never heard of.

It's shared on Share Mania if you're interested.

What is the name of it 

If you are talking about Legends thats not new btw

Yes agree that even if Higher Power isn't perfect, it feels like we could getting an album with some truly fun colors, textures and vibes. My fingers are crossed that Higher Power and only one other song are super pop oriented and that the rest of the album will include tons of guitar and more weird vocalisations. I hope it can at least maintain as many alternative sounding songs as MX,GS,AHFOD eras.

Maybe a dark sounding song like Midnight and Yes?

I've only listened once, but this is a great pop song and I like it! It's not oldplay, but still a really cool song and much better than much om AHFD IMO. Have high hopes for the album!

1 hour ago, Yasuko said:

The Race and another song seem to be leaked.
 

The Race leaked a while ago. It isn't difficult to find a full version, which is apparently the version that was cut from Ghost Stories. I wonder if you're referring to that version. ? In fact, I first heard it just the other day.

31 minutes ago, IcebatofvalikinRRBZ8 said:

Maybe a dark sounding song like Midnight and Yes?

Yes please! And speaking of Midnight, I'm really hoping Jon Hopkins is working with them again.

matt whitecross said coldplay is always looking for its own KID A (revolutionary album in the band Radiohead) sorry to say this is not the way. Not like that guys.

I really love this band very much and I expect much more and less from the AHFOD way

With them from parachutes and absolutely love this one. Have long wanted a band like Coldplay to pick up sounds from those 80's drum patterns. Feeling some Phil Collins vibes here. Excited for the album!! 

2 hours ago, Dherlax said:

matt whitecross said coldplay is always looking for its own KID A (revolutionary album in the band Radiohead) sorry to say this is not the way. Not like that guys.

I really love this band very much and I expect much more and less from the AHFOD way

Their KID A was AROBTTH in my opinion. 

Having seen the video, I now suspect there may be more to the BRITS performance than the leaked video and pictures would have us believe… Could a thousand holographic dancing aliens be about to descend on the O2? 

Wonder how Stephen and the others are going recording all the interviews they guys have been on today. Hope they're succeeding and they post a giant forum thread with links to each!

Gotta say Orphans and now Higher Power, they are smashing lead singles. The rest of the album will be interesting too i think, the vibe feels right. Feels more inspired than during the AHFOD time for instance. We got oldplay in Everyday Life. Bring it on with some smash records for the live shows.

11 minutes ago, tom043 said:

Gotta say Orphans and now Higher Power, they are smashing lead singles. The rest of the album will be interesting too i think, the vibe feels right. Feels more inspired than during the AHFOD time for instance. We got oldplay in Everyday Life. Bring it on with some smash records for the live shows.

Orphans feels less, because EL wasnt promoted that much at all and not mainstream. Sadly

27 minutes ago, IcebatofvalikinRRBZ8 said:

Orphans feels less, because EL wasnt promoted that much at all and not mainstream. Sadly

I guess but I kinda like that it wasn’t pumped up. The deeper meaning in those song lyrics (Orphans) about damascus bombings etc still hits me, with a song setup that happy. Now this new one is mostly feel good and that’s nice too. 

That was awesome! I really loved it! I mean it is the kind of song that make you start the day with a smile. Now that I've listened it like 100 times I can't take it out of my head. I liked the beat and to me is a song easy to listen and enjoy, got me singing every second haha.

There was just a moment on the song during the first and second play where I was ready for a big explosion but it never came, I don't know, that was my perception. But the song is really growing on each repeat. Happy I'm alive at the same time as Coldplay ?

You see, my problem with Coldplay the last few years (EL excluded) is just how bland and middle of the road they’ve become. I’m not against them releasing a pop record per se, but do it in a way that upholds your artistic and creative integrity. 
 

What do I mean by this? Well, lots of people are hearing a slight 80’s vibe to the new single... well if you want to go 80’s then go FULL 80’s synth wave (aha style) Not tik tok rubbish. It’s not befitting of a band of their calibre. For some reason, whether it’s down to the band themselves or whoever is producing the music, great ideas get diluted along the way and become a hard candy mess along the way.

As I said before, I’m not even that annoyed. I predicted this after EL came out and nothing surprises me with them anymore, I just hope they go more EL style for the next LP.

Yeah I don't think Higher Power is surprising. In fact I'm pretty sure back in 2018/2019 I was predicting they'd go or an 80's sound at some point based on Chris' obsession with Back to the Future and the way Life Is Beautiful sounded (rip). Not to toot my own horn though -- it's fairly predictable that Coldplay will follow trends (MX had an Arcade Fire vibe, GS felt very XX/mellow indie, ASFOS, SJLT). 

That said -- I do think we could still get some surprises on LP9 and I'm trying to stay optimistic. At this point in their career, we know they'll stick in some pop, saccharine songs like HP. Even Everyday Life, their serious, conceptual "opus," had Orphans and Cry Cry Cry. So maybe we get another few big pop singles a la Paradise or Princess of China, but i can live with that so long as the production is as good as Higher Power and so long as the album ALSO fulfills my itch for some weird Koatica stuff. I'm wanting Alien-sung songs, Jon Hopkins produced spacey meditations, heavy 80's guitar power chords, more choirs. 

I guess in summary I share some gripes with others about HP, especially the lack of Jonny which feels like a massive wasted opportunity for the sake of keeping the mix as clean and tik-tokable as possible. But GS still had the True Love solo, AHFOD still had Up&Up solos and an EP with some bigger solos. And I think HP has a truly unique and interesting intro and outro (the alien ahhhhhhh) AND let's not forget we'll likely get some remixes of this song if it blows up, and those remixes could deliver some alt takes. And as is, HP could fit nicely on the album sandwiched between much more instrumentally interesting tracks. Fingers crossed.

 

I also love EL very much, but let's not judge the whole LP9 just by the first song they released. Coldplay have always surprised us. Perhaps the new album contains not only 'pop' songs but also some more experimental songs. If they want to tour again - and I hope they will - they need some new 'poppy' songs and 'Higher Power' is a fresh happy song. I am looking forward to listening to the rest of the album!

I don't understand the hate this song gets.

Also I don't understand the praise EL gets. For me, apart from a few exceptions, that is a boring album. I can hear what they wanted with that album and I would love to love that album if you know what I mean.

1 hour ago, lennyrott1 said:

Yeah I don't think Higher Power is surprising. In fact I'm pretty sure back in 2018/2019 I was predicting they'd go or an 80's sound at some point based on Chris' obsession with Back to the Future and the way Life Is Beautiful sounded (rip). Not to toot my own horn though -- it's fairly predictable that Coldplay will follow trends (MX had an Arcade Fire vibe, GS felt very XX/mellow indie, ASFOS, SJLT). 

That said -- I do think we could still get some surprises on LP9 and I'm trying to stay optimistic. At this point in their career, we know they'll stick in some pop, saccharine songs like HP. Even Everyday Life, their serious, conceptual "opus," had Orphans and Cry Cry Cry. So maybe we get another few big pop singles a la Paradise or Princess of China, but i can live with that so long as the production is as good as Higher Power and so long as the album ALSO fulfills my itch for some weird Koatica stuff. I'm wanting Alien-sung songs, Jon Hopkins produced spacey meditations, heavy 80's guitar power chords, more choirs. 

I guess in summary I share some gripes with others about HP, especially the lack of Jonny which feels like a massive wasted opportunity for the sake of keeping the mix as clean and tik-tokable as possible. But GS still had the True Love solo, AHFOD still had Up&Up solos and an EP with some bigger solos. And I think HP has a truly unique and interesting intro and outro (the alien ahhhhhhh) AND let's not forget we'll likely get some remixes of this song if it blows up, and those remixes could deliver some alt takes. And as is, HP could fit nicely on the album sandwiched between much more instrumentally interesting tracks. Fingers crossed.

 

Yeah, my hopes are also on not all songs of LP9 being poppy. And I hope the Asian influence on the backig vocal melodies in Higher Power is pursued in more depth. We know that Chris at least worked with Jacob Collier recently too, so he might be on LP9 as well.