🪐 Coldplay: Music of the Spheres 🪐 | Out Now! | Discussion

[IcebatofvalikinRRBZ8]

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

[tom043]

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. 

[eddmen]

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 ?

[The Adversary]

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.

[lennyrott1]

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.

 

[merril]

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!

[Famous_Old_Painter]

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.

[I ran away]

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.

[Charlie Xyloto]

15 minutes ago, merril said:

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!

My thoughts exactly! This is only the first single, who knows what the rest of the album will sound like. And even if it was all upbeat pop songs, I wouldn't mind. I'm pretty sure though that they'll give us a well balanced mix of tunes. In the new Zane Lowe interview Chris talked about A Sky Full of Stars existing in the same album as O (Fly On), so we could be getting more than one flavour. 

[MosesTheMarshmallow]

I'm going to shamelessly repost what I said in the Higher Power thread since this seems to be the higher traffic thread. But I will add this one thing - have y'all noticed the "Mediterranean Shipping Co" on the containers in the background? I feel like this must not be an accident, and potentially supports my theory that this album will be about refugees, given the connection with the Mediterranean Sea.

5 hours ago, MosesTheMarshmallow said:

Yay new music. I have mixed feelings but to be honest I've had a mixed experience with hearing the lead singles of albums. I felt mixed about ETIAW but quite liked Magic (though felt Magic's climax was underwhelming). I actually really liked Orphans right away though there's too many kids in the chorus. 

Higher Power is an interesting song. Yes, A-ha comparisons but 2 songs that it really reminded me were the Boys of Summer, where in the verses Don kind of trails off / goes down because there's just so many words. Similar with Hurts Like Heaven but it's even more pronounced in Higher Power. And then Jump by Van Halen (which Chris actually covers briefly during the interlude of Clocks right after Van Halen passed away) - the synths have a similar flavour!

My biggest problem with HP though is that the climax isn't that big. It has the understatedness of Magic for no good reason. No giant Jonny solo, no giant singalong, nothing. The end just kinda fades away. But I wanted something HUGE like VLV/Fix You. And despite the high expectations running around, this song is simply not as good as HLH (in a similar class of synth pop but with amazing guitar solos) or Birds (similar 80s drums and cool bassline, shiny guitars). Which is why I'm declaring Orphans > HP, because Orphans has great guitar lines AND it really goes somewhere as a song. 

But some great positives - such a great CHONKY bassline by Guy, and some of Will's best vocals - very reminiscent of Miracles (Something Special), Birds, and Champion of the World. I really like the synths in the chorus and they come in with such power. 

And if nothing else, I think 40% of you will like the song a LOT more once you hear the live version because Jonny's guitar will be way louder. ?

PS why do people hate AOAL? It's got such a great guitar riff throughout the whole damn song and a nice guitar solo at the end, some great Will vocals, a funky bassline. Sure it's got a bit too much vocal sample but whatever. 

 

 

 

[Coeurli]

23 minutes ago, MosesTheMarshmallow said:

I'm going to shamelessly repost what I said in the Higher Power thread since this seems to be the higher traffic thread. But I will add this one thing - have y'all noticed the "Mediterranean Shipping Co" on the containers in the background? I feel like this must not be an accident, and potentially supports my theory that this album will be about refugees, given the connection with the Mediterranean Sea.

 

Good spot! Definitely a familiar theme for Coldplay to explore so I wouldn't be surprised if that's the case. In the many interviews we've seen today, and in the launch video with Thomas Pesquet (  ) , Chris says that they're using other planets as an allegory for what's happening on Earth. So yeah it all makes sense.

[I ran away]

1 hour ago, MosesTheMarshmallow said:

I'm going to shamelessly repost what I said in the Higher Power thread since this seems to be the higher traffic thread. But I will add this one thing - have y'all noticed the "Mediterranean Shipping Co" on the containers in the background? I feel like this must not be an accident, and potentially supports my theory that this album will be about refugees, given the connection with the Mediterranean Sea.

 

yeah i noticed that too!

[I ran away]

Not gonna lie, hearing in a couple of interviews (e.g. Zane Lowe) today that Chris had to audition the songs for Max Martin before the producer decided if he would work on them gave me traumatic pre-AHFOD album release flashbacks. Because in interviews back then Chris said the exact same thing about Stargate.

I know Max Martin is leagues above Stargate, but still i feel this spells no good for the album. I feel like all recent albums where big name producers had a power over the band's input weren't as good as the ones where the producers were less high-profile people who grew up alongside the band and have worked with them for a long time like Rik Simpson, Dan Green and the Dream Team.

[Ntheruff]

3 hours 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.

 

Max Martin produced and help write "Higher Power" In my opinion the 80's/90's sound wasn't all Coldplay's idea. In fact Max Martin helped write and produce The Weeknd "Blinding Lights" which also has that same sound  

If you play these two songs back to back you'll find that they are eerily similar in every way. When you go to Max Martin to get your song produced you're guaranteeing yourself a smash hit. Blinding Lights broke the record for most weeks at #1 and was the Hot 100 song of the year. 
 

As for the rest of the forthcoming Coldplay album, your guess is as good as mine as to the sound they have. 

[I ran away]

1 hour ago, Ntheruff said:

Max Martin produced and help write "Higher Power" In my opinion the 80's/90's sound wasn't all Coldplay's idea. In fact Max Martin helped write and produce The Weeknd "Blinding Lights" which also has that same sound  

Could be some truth in there because in that one interview with Will and Guy, Guy was asked if they tried to record an 80s sounding song and he said that it was not at all planned, but while working on it they realized the song was asking to sound like this....

[ColdplayingMama]

Chris, regarding if there'll be a new album: "...there won't not be one."

LOL, I've never been so excited about such an odd sentence. Love it, so very Chris Martin :-)

[Coeurli]

8 hours ago, I ran away said:

Not gonna lie, hearing in a couple of interviews (e.g. Zane Lowe) today that Chris had to audition the songs for Max Martin before the producer decided if he would work on them gave me traumatic pre-AHFOD album release flashbacks. Because in interviews back then Chris said the exact same thing about Stargate.

I know Max Martin is leagues above Stargate, but still i feel this spells no good for the album. I feel like all recent albums where big name producers had a power over the band's input weren't as good as the ones where the producers were less high-profile people who grew up alongside the band and have worked with them for a long time like Rik Simpson, Dan Green and the Dream Team.

I do think there's a big difference in the fact that, according to interviews, Chris and Max have actually been friends and trying to work together for several years. So i don't think it's necessarily the same dynamic as with Stargate.

[dxm3557]

Max Martin is great, but what a blast would be if Eno, Jon Hopkins, Ken Nelson and Tom Lord-Alge came back again someday.

[strawberrytom]

Is there a thread or something with what’s been said in interviews with the band yesterday? Haven’t seen one on here or Reddit and I’m really intrigued to see if there’s info slowly coming out about the album 

 

29 minutes ago, dxm3557 said:

Max Martin is great, but what a blast would be if Eno, Jon Hopkins, Ken Nelson and Tom Lord-Alge came back again someday.

I think Hopkins is likely to be involved. I really want Eno on the album and I feel like there’s been enough hints to suggest he might be but I wonder if it’s a case of finishing off some old songs he worked on 

[Coeurli]

41 minutes ago, strawberrytom said:

Is there a thread or something with what’s been said in interviews with the band yesterday? Haven’t seen one on here or Reddit and I’m really intrigued to see if there’s info slowly coming out about the album 

 

 

So far what i'm gathering:

- Chris eventually admitted that yes they are working on an album (on most interviews he tried to make it sound like there was nothing specific going on lol)

- The concept around the album involves several planets, he mentions "Kaotica and its surrounding planets". A lot of it is a metaphor for Earth, so we can expect political messages as in the AHFOD/Kaleidoscope era.

- Max Martin is the main producer confirmed so far. He seems to be heavily involved in the album (see the Zane Lowe interview). They're probably working with other folks as well but he's the only one mentioned in the interviews. 

- Video for Higher Power coming sometime in early June probably (Chris said it's coming out in about a month)

- They were very careful not to reveal anything at all about the album so it's hard to have anything else. However I have not watched the Will & Guy interview yet, maybe there's something there.

[strawberrytom]

16 minutes ago, Coeurli said:

So far what i'm gathering:

- Chris eventually admitted that yes they are working on an album (on most interviews he tried to make it sound like there was nothing specific going on lol)

- The concept around the album involves several planets, he mentions "Kaotica and its surrounding planets". A lot of it is a metaphor for Earth, so we can expect political messages as in the AHFOD/Kaleidoscope era.

- Max Martin is the main producer confirmed so far. He seems to be heavily involved in the album (see the Zane Lowe interview). They're probably working with other folks as well but he's the only one mentioned in the interviews. 

- Video for Higher Power coming sometime in early June probably (Chris said it's coming out in about a month)

- They were very careful not to reveal anything at all about the album so it's hard to have anything else. However I have not watched the Will & Guy interview yet, maybe there's something there.

Ooh very interesting thank you for this! 

[The Adversary]

I’m going to vote with my wallet this time and simply not buy the album. 

[I ran away]

9 hours ago, Coeurli said:

I do think there's a big difference in the fact that, according to interviews, Chris and Max have actually been friends and trying to work together for several years. So i don't think it's necessarily the same dynamic as with Stargate.

I read up on the success of Blinding Lights yesterday and I saw that the Weeknd has used EXACTLY the same word about Max Martin, curiously. That they have a great friendship and it's like a marriage that has come together...

[ToniMoreno]

Well, I´m a quite disapointed because Chris said after AHFOD that Coldplay will not do an conventional album in the future, that they are now in other "stage". This was true with EL. But it seems that this new LP (¿Music of the spheres?) will be another conventional album with more pop songs instead rock/pop-rock of their early albums. We will see. I wish I´m wrong.

 

About the song. I think its better than pthers pop hits like SJLT o SKY, but is very pop. And its sad no hear any Jhony solo...

[Famous_Old_Painter]

9 hours ago, Coeurli said:

So far what i'm gathering:

- Chris eventually admitted that yes they are working on an album (on most interviews he tried to make it sound like there was nothing specific going on lol)

- The concept around the album involves several planets, he mentions "Kaotica and its surrounding planets". A lot of it is a metaphor for Earth, so we can expect political messages as in the AHFOD/Kaleidoscope era.

- Max Martin is the main producer confirmed so far. He seems to be heavily involved in the album (see the Zane Lowe interview). They're probably working with other folks as well but he's the only one mentioned in the interviews. 

- Video for Higher Power coming sometime in early June probably (Chris said it's coming out in about a month)

- They were very careful not to reveal anything at all about the album so it's hard to have anything else. However I have not watched the Will & Guy interview yet, maybe there's something there.

Do you think it's true that they're "working om an album"? 

I think at this point the album is finished.