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Music of the Spheres critic and user reviews


nvdmm

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This is a place we can share our thoughts about the entire album. I will also share and update critic reviews as they're published. 

The Guardian - 2/5  "Slipping status prompts a desperate pop pivot" 

Pitchfork - 5.1/10  "Here he goes again, looking at the stars, seeing how they shine" 

Independent - 3/5  "A superficial spiritual shower" 

The Times - 2/5  "Fluff from a band who lost their way" 

iNews - 3/5  "Big pop that sounds like One Direction’s leftovers"

Stereogum - "Behold Coldplay’s irrepressible thirst for mainstream pop relevance!" 

NME - 4/5  "World-conquering pop group reach for the stars"

The Telegraph - 3/5  "Like a zero-gravity soft play area full of puppy dogs"

The Sydney Morning Herald - 3/5  "Beneath the glistening surface, not a lot resonates on new Coldplay album"

Riff - 7/10  "Coldplay delights and disappoints on ‘Music of the Spheres’"

Rolling Stone - 3/5  "Coldplay Travel to Space and Redeem Humanity (Again) on ‘Music of the Spheres’"

Consequence - "Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Is Completely Oblivious to Its Own Plight"

LA Times - "Coldplay successfully turns to Max Martin for hits, but there’s no helping these lyrics"

RTE - 2/5 "a colouring book version of Pink Floyd"

ourculture  - 2.5/5 

THE YOUNG FOLKS - 4/10 "A Predictable Disappointment"

popMATTERS  - 4/10 "COLDPLAY DON’T REACH THE HEART ON AMBITIOUS ‘MUSIC OF THE SPHERES’"

The Wall Street Journal - "The band’s new album takes the cosmos as its latest concept, but the interstellar lovefest grows numbing as the record runs on"

Clash Music - 5/10 "A deeply mixed return that lacks a certain spark..."

MusicOMH - 4/10 "It’s the sound of Coldplay treading water. More alarmingly, it begins to sound like they’re trying not to drown"

music-of-the-spheres-gheTTo.jpg

Edited by nvdmm
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Stereogum wooow !!!

Coldplay have never sounded more desperate for a hit than they do on “My Universe.” The funky, retro-futuristic adult contemporary disco track sets aside almost everything that ever made this band great in favor of the most basic building blocks imaginable. Sure, the starry-eyed wonder remains, but on “My Universe” it’s been swallowed up by the tackiest glitz imaginable, music that makes Coldplay’s Chainsmokers collab seem tasteful by comparison. The music sounds like it was selected from a catalog of pre-made templates for an ebullient pop song. The chorus — on which (Chris) Martin shouts, “You, you are my universe/ And I want to put you first!” — is dopey in the way “Higher Power” manages to avoid. And although BTS’ lithe vocals sound at home within this sonic universe, their presence on a Coldplay album could not feel more forced. It’s hard to hear a song like this and believe anyone involved firmly believed in what they were doing. It comes across as deeply cynical, and Coldplay and cynicism do not mix.

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My first take on this album: Mylo Xyloto 2.0

To begin with the cons: It sometimes feels 'overly produced'. Why do they add so much 'bells and whistles' to their songs nowadays? This is the same I felt when I first heard Higher Power. I prefer a more clean version, staying closer to their roots, while still exploring new ideas. The absolute low point is Biutyful with the same distorted voice we could hear on Everyday Life. If it had less bells and whistles like MX I probably would have liked this album even more.

The pros: Despite it sometimes sounds 'overly produced' the balance is quite well, using a similar intro as Mylo Xyloto's similar named opening song with an also short similar named song Music of the Spheres. All this followed with an uplifting number Higher Power/Hurts Like Heaven after which a variety of songs that sometimes somewhat resemble the vibe of songs from MX: MX 5th song Us against the World vs MotS 5th Let Somebody Go and MX 8th song: Major Minus vs MotS 7th song People of the Pride. Finalizing the album with a more Ghost Stories end with Coloratura. My instant personal favorite being People of the Pride really stands out from the rest, but never a real dissonant. While Higher Powers catchy tunes and lyrics linger in your head like Para-para-paradise, I might even enjoy My Universes' collab more than MX's Princess of China (don't tell my son as that is one of his most favorite Coldplay songs).

My first verdict: 6.8 (out of 10)

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Reviews are not brilliant at all, they should release Vol. 2 quite soon...

I'm enjoying this album, not as much as I did with EL which is more my cup of tea.

My current ranking (not including MOTS I & II and Alien Choir?

1 ) Humankind 

2 ) Coloratura

3) Human Heart

4 ) People Of The Pride

5 ) Biutyful

6 ) Higher Power

7 ) Infinity Sign

8 ) Let Someone Go

9 ) My Universe

 

Edited by johnnymax8652
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All this hatred from critics was heavily predictable since the end of the EL era and the first hints about the direction they were taking with MOTS.

And, to be honest, I strongly agree that this is by far the most disappointing effort they could ever perform

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5 hours ago, JM-42 said:

Seems like MOTS is heading to overthrone AFHOD as their worst reviewed album on Metacritic, Anydecentmusic and even Rate Your Music. 

And that is a shame. People are acting like AHFOD never happened while it was way worse than MOTS, production and quality wise. 

Edited by VCF
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Hi!

Is it not possible to make a poll in the forum?

It will be interesting that all of us could vote how good is the album and make a average of that. Because hte post we write quickly became burried by others.

What do you think?

 

Now, the average of the reviews is 5,6/10

Edited by ToniMoreno
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2 hours ago, ToniMoreno said:

Hi!

Is it not possible to make a poll in the forum?

It will be interesting that all of us could vote how good is the album and make a average of that. Because hte post we write quickly became burried by others.

What do you think?

 

Now, the average of the reviews is 5,6/10

Yep, when you make a new thread, you can choose between two tabs: content (for a normal thread) and poll

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6 hours ago, VCF said:

And that is a shame. People are acting like AHFOD never happened while it was way worse than MOTS, production and quality wise. 

Same. AHFOD is a far worst album imo. 

I think part of the reason the album is getting too much hate might be the obvious signs of the band of willingness to do anything to not fall into irrelevance. Their last "big hit" that wasn't a collab must be Paradise from a decade ago.

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6 hours ago, JM-42 said:

Same. AHFOD is a far worst album imo. 

I think part of the reason the album is getting too much hate might be the obvious signs of the band of willingness to do anything to not fall into irrelevance. Their last "big hit" that wasn't a collab must be Paradise from a decade ago.

Magic and Adventure of a Lifetime were big hits, Everglow a minor one but still. I don't think the collabs are the problem here to be honest.

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2 hours ago, Shakersonic123 said:

It's currently the 7th worst album of the year on albumoftheyear.org, just below the heavily criticized Sia project and Imagine Dragons. YIKES. A Fantano review is still due, so the score will probably go even lower. 

I feel so bad right now, it's not an incredible album but worst of the year? Even the critical side of me think it's an exaggeration, I hope the band can turn this around, they deseve nothing but love?

Edited by gustavothehuman
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20 minutes ago, gustavothehuman said:

Magic and Adventure of a Lifetime were big hits, Everglow a minor one but still. I don't think the collabs are the problem here to be honest.

I wouldn't say they were "big hits" per se. Certainly very popular songs but not comparable to ASFOS or SJLT. Those were inescapable songs lol. 

Btw I'm not saying the collabs are the problem. Most of them have been good and well structured pop songs in my opinion. I also believe the band is putting out there the music they genuinely want to but I understand the critics perspective of seeing this as looking for the most accessible and harmless music to maintain their status as "biggest band of the world".

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Critics are being overly cynical yet all of them fail to point out that they are the only act of their scale that has recently put out brand new, completely different original work.

All of the other big acts who have been releasing this year are relying on : old work, same old style, or heavy sampling.

Pretty ironic that Coldplay are taking the shit for being "too commercial" amongst all this, when they're the ones taking the most risks out there.

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I think that this is not their best album ever, as many others think as well, to me it lacks a bit of cohesion and some songs are not that great, but one can't deny that *at least* Coloratura has its genuine value... unfortunately over the years they have always been an easy target for critics, to the point that it has become "fashionable" also among common people hating on them. Criticism is ok, it should be there to help artists to improve their work; what isn't ok at all is the way some critics express their opinions, which is purely destructive rather than constructive. Criticizing/Reviewing means highlighting weaknesses, but also strengths of someone else's work, not throwing negativity between the lines or even explicitly (that would be too easy, wouldn't it?). That's my peaceful and personal opinion about critics based on the reviews I've read so far? 

Edited by only.your.imagination
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Have you seen Higher Power perfomance from Shepherd's Bush?When audience sings back to him , you feel the potential this song has. Such an organically uplifting song. So, i would like to say that, the main power of this album is that is joyous, and that is has real energy put into it, so, even if some songs are not the most original ones, or the best that band produced(for sure), the album has such a drive, such a rush of energy put into it that transcribes perfectly in live shows of the band. And I'm so happy this album exists. Some of the songs i will like more like i adore some Cp b-sides, biutyful is that kind of song for me, i just feel like i am the only one listening to it, and i love it.  

In fact the whole album feels like a b-side Coldplay album, and i love that thing about it.  Even My universe feels like a b-side compared to Something just like this. This album feels small to me, and really close to my heart. 

Edited by Tarkovsky2
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I think part of the criticism comes from the expectations behind EL that Coldplay had returned to its original sound (which is not the same as always doing the same thing) and in the end one finds that an album has been made markedly to sell . This is the case, a warner boss already warned us at the beginning of 2020.

It is a complex matter, but I think that in the end trying to make music that everyone can like (which is what they have been playing for a long time) makes you lose your essence in a certain way.

The subject of the collaborations would give for a long debate. My perception is that they seem to have a hard time creating hits without them. All the great songs (in terms of popularity and sales) in recent years have been collaborations: SJTL, HYM, SKFOS, MU ... it is a dangerous trend, especially when Coldplay is in a vicious circle where it must find how to continue selling more and more so as not to lose the throne of "the greatest band in the world".

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I really think it's kinda funny when I read that they want to stay 'the greatest band in the world' and that they only make music which is interesting to the people nowadays. A lot of the mentioned critics do refer to that as well.

IMHO: You don't know/understand Chris, Will, Guy and Jonny well, because with everything they say and do they point out not giving a rat's @ss about that. They just want to make music they love, with whoever they like and don't care about the haters.

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about the sound, so MOTS's concept is about different planets, so differnt moods and sounds. It's not easy to keep this in mind when the album flows... of course, POTP would sound much better on VLV, Coloratura on Ghost Stories, Humakind on MX, LSG on AHFOD, MU on a BTS album instead ... I think a song can sound different just because of the other songs nearby. Also, some songs are old demos revisited with Max martin (for sure POTP would have been different it is was finished in 2008 and produced by Brian Eno for VLV...)

Also, I'm wondering how long making albums will still be a relevant thing, with streaming platforms etc... before we bought the full album for one song, now we can just pick what we like and leave the rest. I think this MOTS era is more aware of this and it has adapted its own way. We get volumes that seem like EPs, not really full albums, with a bit of everying inside for all tastes, some actrative collab to be on everyone's mouth, but what it counts is the song you've chosen for your playlist.

The last real album I've listened to is Pressure Machine of The Killers, they did not even released official singles, just played a different song on every TV live performance and everyone (critics and public) agree the album as a whole is very very good

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27 minutes ago, Tripl3 D said:

I really think it's kinda funny when I read that they want to stay 'the greatest band in the world' and that they only make music which is interesting to the people nowadays. A lot of the mentioned critics do refer to that as well.

IMHO: You don't know/understand Chris, Will, Guy and Jonny well, because with everything they say and do they point out not giving a rat's @ss about that. They just want to make music they love, with whoever they like and don't care about the haters.

 I have talked about this before. The band (especially chris) shows symptoms of cognitive dissonance. Their actions do not match their words a lot of the times. They don't care about charts, but then they do UNNECESSARY collabs with the biggest popstars. They don't care about critics, but chris felt very low when he read a NY Times review. I remember when they were promoting AOAL, and somewhere in the Youtube description it said that the track came from the critically acclaimed album, AHFOD (was not true; reviews were mixed), so do they care or not? I think they do care for both mainstream success and critical acclaim. That's why they always try to balance things out (I.e. Coloratura and My Universe are in the same album). 

Chris once said:  "I love sing-alongs. And within the limits of that, we'll try anything. But we're in the middle because I love "Last Friday Night" by Katy Perry almost as much as "Karma Police", and if you want to straddle that line, you have to take the slings and arrows".

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I agree that some critics are quite harsh in their reviews, and that's not constructive. If I try to put myself in their shoes, there's also a limit to how much they can cover in a review if they want people to actually read their articles, so sometimes they won't elaborate enough or cover everything. 

Then again, completely dismissing or even deflecting any criticism isn't constructive either. People might have valid points about the quality of the songwriting, lyrics, production etc on MOTS. Most people aren't just "hating", "trolling" or "stuck in the past", the vast majority of reviews and comments that I've seen have praised Coloratura for example, probably the most experimental song on this album. Without that song the reviews would be even worse.

I also agree that lately at times their words and actions have been contradictory. For example, Guy said a while ago (I don't remember which interview exactly) that MOTS is their most experimental album. But it's not really if it's mostly pop and aiming at mainstream listeners. The MU collab was another example. Things like that cause people to start questioning their credibitlity. And as a result they get comments about selling out etc.

The whole rollout of the album has been a bit messy too in my opinion, I think that's adding to people's frustration as well.

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I think I should point out that while I'm reading through all these reviews to post on here, the most prevalent talking point for almost all critics is the band's previous work on 'Everyday Life'. Many people believe that album was the band's best work in years and they find it difficult to understand how and why they would follow it up with this.

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25 minutes ago, nvdmm said:

Creo que debería señalar que mientras leo todas estas críticas para publicar aquí, el tema de conversación más frecuente para casi todos los críticos es el trabajo anterior de la banda en 'Everyday Life'. Mucha gente cree que el álbum fue el mejor trabajo de la banda en años y les resulta difícil entender cómo y por qué seguirían con esto.

Thats the point.

EL has been their best album since Viva la Vida. Many people hoped that they will continued this road...

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