Music of the Spheres critic and user reviews

[prospekt46]

I'm all for pushing for worst album of the year if there is any chance it'll finally hit Chris that being not afraid to work in whatever genre you want isn't a free pass to phone it in while your label imports chart viability from South Korea.

[Nature]

Not suprised by the negative reviews, its really a bad album.

Its a mess,boring,lyrically lazy. 

They can do better.

[ToniMoreno]

I´ve created a Poll so that we can measure the general perception of the fans with this album, you can vote here:

 

 

[KouignAmann35]

Why the fuck are they released an album like that... I was very exiting when Coloratura came, because it was a real piece of music, with good lyrics and melody.

But when the album came... it's sssooooo bad. I am a real big fan of Viva la Vida, and this one is getting me back to Mylo Xyloto era, but with all the worst part.

I hope, the volume II will exist, and will be release very soon, with very good song. I don't want old Coldplay, I just want good songs...

[Gwaihir]

Just had a listen... as an album it's just bad. Two or three songs are really good but everything else is just pointless pop I just cannot connect to. Where is the red threat throughout the album, I mean MUSICALLY? They are so desperate to SOUND like somebody else that they have forgotten to be just Coldplay. Why using commercial pop producers and why so many collaborations? Why not just making good music with RAW instruments. I love X&Y just for that! I know the band love what they do now and I don't want to tell them what to do. That's not my right. But I can say that as a long time fan I feel sorry to have lost Coldplay as a favorite band.

[LisaFeehily]

https://www.albumoftheyear.org/ratings/worst/2021/ MOTS is at #3 now.

[elroy bo]

Some really good songs... but it doesn't hold together that well... 6 good songs

 

Higher Power

Humankind

Let Somebody Go

Human Heart

My Universe

Coloratura

 

I'd want 9+ good songs...

 

 

[elroy bo]

Time to knock it on the head. boys? 

 

 

[Batman]

*scrolls through the critics and comments*

Doesn't matter what Coldplay does, they always get shat on. ALWAYS. It's like people have a hard-on for being: "FIRST!1 Okay I hate Coldplay now give me a headpat mhyes please!"

LOL

Anyways I think this album has a few BANGER songs that never get boring to listen to, and of course bad songs ("Biutyful" would be indeed Biutyful if there wasn't a chipmunk screaming into my ear. OH WELL)

Overall I think the album is fantastic in terms of throwing out messages about humanity, togetherness and life appreciation, but having become a Coldplay fan due to loving Chris Martin's voice, I'm very frustrated when he doesn't sing himself or distorts his voice so much that it sounds annoying.

As always, some songs sound better live (People of the Pride for example) and the filler "songs" are sometimes a little but... uhhh... yeah well I just skip them.

Even though the "∞" track literally lets the fans sing, it's one of my favourite songs of the album. Also the last part of "Humankind" makes me very emotional.

 

Coldplay is still producing fantastic worlds with their music and all the music critics patting their backs with their shitty reviews can suck it and listen to white noise if that's what they find hip these days lmao

[gustavothehuman]

22 hours ago, prospekt46 said:

I'm all for pushing for worst album of the year if there is any chance it'll finally hit Chris that being not afraid to work in whatever genre you want isn't a free pass to phone it in while your label imports chart viability from South Korea.

I get that a lot of people are frustrated but you're literally acting like a hater right now + there's 0 need to trash the band's collaborators. 18 months ago was April 2020, four months after is August 2020. BTS was yet to release Dynamite, their first #1 single, they had less Top 10 singles than Coldplay at the time, we would be getting this song with "chart viability" or not.

Edited October 20, 2021 by gustavothehuman

[gustavothehuman]

Y'all seriously need to learn how to draw the line between criticizing the band and disrespecting them. I've just read a 1/10 review they added on AOTY and the guy is just saying the album is shit and calling the band names, how is that going to help them improve in any way? Coldplay need us fans to guide them properly because: a) I doubt they read these reviews. b) Ranting will be interpreted as the stereotypical Oldplayer, which they won't pay attention to either.

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by gustavothehuman

[prospekt46]

[JM-42]

At this point I doubt the band cares too much about how well reviewed the album is. Like I said before, I truly think this is the music they want to release and they will get to tour it all over the world for the next year and a half.

[TealAppeal]

I'm late to the party but here's my review for Coldplay Music of the Spheres.

 

Track number one,

▪Music of the Spheres:

Reminds me of the beginning track of Coldplay's Ghost Stories album I forget this song's title "o" was it? Anyway this song has its light tonally; atmospheric and surreal. A bit too short for me but it works to interest the listener toward the next song. 2.5/9

▪Higher power:

I like that this song is a 80s sound throwback had heard it before the CD was out so I've gotten more fond of it. Wish the sound mix turned up Wills voice and the guitar bits. Need to choose my words carefully however I feel this song is rather tame; if compared to "Jump" by Van Halen if you listen to it at 1 (minute) and 15 seconds they segwayed into a solo and that worked for me. I wish higher power did the same overwise pretty good. 4/9

 

▪Humankind: the use of alien language sure is a unique way to launch a song. I love it when the melody arrives, "my heart is starting glowing //I feel it// inside it's flowing" very lovely.

The strumming here on the guitar works for me, well done. Reminds me of when Coldplay very first started out. Now I'm noticing the drums ~ everyone is great here. Fun song and solid harmonization. 9/9

▪Alien choir: very calming if anything I'll be sure to set this song as my wake-up alarm. Almost hear breathing... fascinating. It's hard to describe but I feel like this song snuck in another Coldplay song ( is it "Amsterdam" perhaps super slowed down or something ? I'm I crazy, lol ). 3/9

▪Let somebody go: "I love you to the moon and back again" this got me smiling - freaking adorable!

That mathematician line surprised me but if Coldplay made 'the scientist' song work then they're pretty cool in my book. I'll keep listening now... oh yeah they made that line work very effectively.

That pause in the song drew my attention, unsure if I appreciate it or not though. 3.5/9

▪Human heart: the lyrics are strong with this one. I can relate to it as well, gender stereotyping is hard to overcome.

For me the slight echoing in the voices adds more depth to this song think it wouldn't be the same without it.

Rich synchronization singing beautiful.

"Any day it could be torn in half "

Small chuckle for me only because it was sung off-key I found that a bit unexpected... overall good song. 7.5/9

▪People of the pride: when the song gets going it's a real headbanger - this is awesome!

Damn that part after the "tick tock, tick tock" line and the musical drop is simply genius ~so playful.

Now I'm glad I bought tickets to the show, this one is going to be a real Stadium crowd pleaser.

"There's a sewing up of Rags Into Revolution Flags" top-notch writing, reminds me of the Viva era a bit. 9/9

My hubby will love this one. Its an inside joke for us... he once mistook a Muse song for Coldplay, "Didn't Coldplay write 'Starlight' ?" He once said to me. "No" I replied.

Now that Coldplay made a Muse-like track he'll be forever musically troubled lol.

▪Biutyful: whaa... ouch my ears.

Oh good the music is now kicking in. Don't know if I'm into this one however the back-beat isn't so bad.

"Love Me Love Me" part kind of works with this song.

Oh thank goodness normal Chris voice is back.. please don't leave!

Had to look it up just in case he does say, "Watermelon Moon so happy you're alive", too cute. Not bad but I think I'll move on for now. 2.5/9

▪Music of the Spheres  II: Oh nice, this song starts off with cheers from a crowd it's live and it's going to be great I hope.

Now I hear some unknown language maybe it's one of the aliens from the Coldplay website alien radio? It might be spoken in reverse least the spoken sound appears to be reversed to me. Shoot- it's over already! 1/9

▪My universe: nice bass strumming here. Both bands work off well off each other, they created a nice ear-worm of a song.

Reminds me of Owl City,"Good Time" but that song was just as catchy too.

Whenever Chris sings that 'first' line I can't help but think of folks who say first in the comment section. lol. 8/9

▪Infinity sign: such a good opener, I'm hooked.

Oh my gosh, I know this!

This is a crowd chant from 'a head full of Dreams tour' they asked the crowd to shout "Ole", it was a way for Coldplay to comfort the whole wide world. The song was dedicated to Mexico cuz at that time that country suffered through nasty earthquakes.

So now "Don Quixote (Spanish Rain)" is now blended into Infinity sign. How incredible that those fans shouts will be forever cherished. 6/9

▪Coloratura: I love it when songs take you on a journey.

My dad who is an old baby boomer would love this, I actually showed it to him recently. He influenced me on music in the frist place, I was raised on a musical diet of The Beatles and Pink Floyd in the like.

To know one of my favorite band's Coldplay is homage-ing the older rock songs from the past is quite something. ♡

When I first listened to this just earlier today, water cascaded down my eyes. My soul was moved by this song.

This is one of Coldplay's best work in my opinion. Powerful piece.

A modern classic for me.

I cannot wait to hear it live.

Brilliant way to close this album too.

9/9

---

Total score: 65/108

Edited October 21, 2021 by TealAppeal
Spelling

[elroy bo]

I don't think it is their best album... but credit to them for not repeating themselves... and trying new things...

[FrankSchepers]

On 10/17/2021 at 7:34 PM, 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.

Their last big collab hit was Adventure Of A Lifetime though, still 6 years ago, but at the same time, that was their last commercial era they did before this. Also Hymn For The Weekend only had Beyonce as backing vocals and was a 100% Coldplay track. She didn't write anything about it and wasn't officially credited.

Also, Higher Power did really well in Europe, it was a big hit in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, France and the UK. And even now still is atop the airplay charts in these countries. So it's only US where it "flopped". But Music Of The Spheres as a whole seems to flop in the US now, so it isn't a suprise.

 

I think the main reason why Music Of The Spheres is such a controversial album is the same as why Mylo Xyloto was such a controversial album. It's because they released a very experimental and alternative album before it, so people get hyped for that alternative side of them, but then they come back with a pop record. The general public loves pop Coldplay, but music critics don't as they only wanna hear Oldplay for some reason and can't judge music on its own without comparing it to the artist.

 

If this same album were to be released by a different artist, maybe even a new one, the ratings would've been so so so much higher. But it's just that people keep comparing it with 20 year old stuff and they prefer that over this, and so they get rated worse. But Im 100% sure the album would be rated much higher without the name Coldplay attached to it.

Although then the album wouldn't have had 100k+ sales in the UK in its first week ?

[LisaFeehily]

True, HP was a bigger hit than Orphans. But was it really that in Europe, ourside of the UK? On the radio, for sure. But on the single charts and streaming it wasn't as huge, but it wasn't a flop either.

I think record labels have quite a big impact on which songs become successful and which ones don't. HP for example got the biggest promo campaign of any song ever, was added to all the popular playlists, had so many different versions, big TV and festival appearances and so on. I believe that if they had promoted Orphans and EL in the same way that they would have achieved similar level of success as HP/MOTS.

I think the general public loves pop Coldplay, but they also love alternative Coldplay. Yellow is in the Spotify top 200 almost every day of the year for UK and has been for US too after MOTS launched as well. Songs like VLV, The Scientist or Fix You are amongst their most popular songs still (in the top 10 on Coldplay's Spotify page currently). These continue to get played at all of their concerts because people love them. 

Either way, Coldplay lost some popularity over the last few years, especially in the US. We can speculate as to why that is, for example because they had a break, they're getting older (it's a very ageist industry), reviews for AHFOD were very mixed etc. 

It's an interesting question how MOTS would have performed had it been released by a new band, with a less famous producer and without collabs. Would everyone here on the forum be as hyped about it?

[nvdmm]

Right I think enough time has passed for us to be able to judge the album reasonably and away from positive or negative prejudice. I'll keep it short and not overtly critical.

Music of the Spheres - Short intro that's not atmospheric enough. It also isn't nearly as fleshed out or interesting as "Mylo Xyloto" or the beginning of "A Head Full of Dreams". 4/10

Higher Power - An attempt to create another "Hurts Like Heaven" and "Birds", but again, it lacks in all departments. The song gets much better for the last quarter once Jonny's guitar kicks in but it's all too little too late. 4/10

Humankind - The best song of the album along with Coloratura I think. They remembered they're a guitar and drums band for this one and Chris's voice is absolutely epic. Max's production sounds much more restrained and you can clearly hear the great instrumentation. But at times it sounds too much like a faster version of "Miracles" and the lyrics are woeful unfortunately. 7/10

Alien Choir - This is absolutely the most frustrating point of the album for me. The ambiance quality of all the Hans Zimmer-esque sounds and synths make this an amazing intro for the album that should have been. It's dark and very reminiscent of 'X&Y' and every time I listen to it I wonder why it's just an interlude and how potentially amazing it could have been if they decided to do an actual space-rock album. 9/10

Let Somebody Go - They tried to do "Everglow" 2.0, except this is even worse. Uninspired and lame, and the lyrics are just rubbish. Even past the 2:30 mark when the songs really picks up, the crescendo lasts for only a few seconds and Chris is repeating the same horrid lines over and over. Also, Selena Gomez! 3/10

Human Heart - The reason this song doesn't work as well as "BrokEn" or "Cry Cry Cry" is very simple. There is literally no music. You're just listening to it waiting for something to happen and it never does. Maybe a subtle piano or synth in the background could have saved this. 3/10

People of the Pride - While I love the lyrics on this and completely understand and support their intentions, it sounds too much like they were trying really hard to mimic Muse, and it hasn't quite worked because the album version is too muffled and Jonny's amazing riffs are buried under the production and the electric drums. The live version is miles better. 6/10

Biutyful - Another moment of frustration. I'm a sucker for Coldplay melancholy (I'm obsessed with "Rainy Day" and "Army of One") but this is not it! The stupid voice should have just been Chris singing normally, they should have ditched the pads for real drums and added some beautiful strings running with tender riffs from Jonny. Oh what a missed opportunity! 5/10

Music of the Spheres II - Pointless interlude and those fucking alien sounds again! 2/10

My Universe - Allow me to pass on this one! 2/10

Infinity Sign - Again, an interlude that doesn't seem to serve any purpose. 4 minutes of repetitious gibberish. 1/10

Coloratura - To describe the first half of this song I'll borrow a quote from one of the critics: "a coloring book version of Pink Floyd". The second part has more urgency and oomph and it works really well with the climax. This is absolutely NOT the best song Coldplay have ever done, which is a statement I'm seeing too often. 7/10

Overall: 4.5

Ultimately I would say I'm majorly disappointed and my dream of seeing Coldplay return to form has been crushed. Everyday Life is a masterful album that once again showcased how talented and creative these guys are, but they failed to capitalize on its success. I've also realized all this talk about them not wanting to repeat themselves is utter bullshit. They've tried to emulate 'AHFOD' with this record, which it self was trying to emulate 'Mylo Xyloto', which was again trying to recapture the magic of 'Viva la Vida'. Below are my current album standings:

1. AROBTTH 10/10

2. VLV / EL 9/10

3. X&Y / Parachutes 8/10

4. MX 7/10

5. Ghost Stories 6/10

6. AHFOD 5/10

7. MOTS 4.5/10

Edited November 10, 2021 by nvdmm

[lennyrott1]

Yeah I've found myself less inclined to listen to MOTS than any other Coldplay album, which bums me out and I can't  tell if it's because of the music or just my taste. I agree that if a different band released the album, it would get better scores. But also, as an album, I think it's incredibly incohesive. It almost makes me want to improve my score for AHFOD and GS because even though there's parts of those albums I don't like, the albums are consistent in themes, tone, and overall instrumentation. MOTS is just too all over the place. The differences in sound between a track like Biutyful vs. Coloratura or Humankind vs. My Universe are incredibly jarring. 

[I ran away]

On 10/18/2021 at 12:30 PM, ToniMoreno said:

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".

So he was a warner, you say? 😄

In all seriousness though, I fear that we will get more collaborations and less Coldplay content as time goes on. Chris even outright stated that once the band is done with their studio discography in 2025, they might do collaborations. Of course they are free to do what they want but this is worrying to me because I feel like it will be collaborations with flashy big name artists to get the occasional standalone hits, not the organic, subtle collaborations that we got on the Everyday Life album or even on Human Heart, for example. I recently scrolled through the ASCAP song database where all their music is registered and without even thinking about it, I suddently noticed that for the vast majority of songs I love and are masterpieces to me it says  "Writers (4)". 4. Four people. That's all it took to make timeless masterpieces and huge, commercially successful hits when they were in their prime.

On 10/18/2021 at 2:28 PM, Shakersonic123 said:

 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".

As an artist myself (not music), let me tell you that there can be a massive difference between what you tell people/how you present yourself in public and how you really feel. My debut received mixed reviews and I was even attacked on a very personal level by a major publication, for no good reason except that I was doing what I love. Did it actually hurt and do i secretly care what people think of my work? Yes. Do I tell that to people in interviews? No, I tell them I don't care because I don't want to give haters any satisfaction.

As for the descriptions in Youtube videos, I'm pretty sure these are taken care of by the label. So the label will of course try to paint everything in a good light.

On 10/18/2021 at 4:31 PM, LisaFeehily said:

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.

I can kinda see why it is experimental for a pop album. Songs like Human Heart, Biutyful and Coloratura are hardly mainstream and especially the juxtaposition of vastly different sounding songs make it Coldplay's most experimental pop album, but of course Everyday Life remains their most experimental album in general.

[I ran away]

On 10/23/2021 at 4:41 PM, FrankSchepers said:

music critics don't as they only wanna hear Oldplay

Interestingly, music critics didn't care for Oldplay either. The early albums were acclaimed by some but rated poorly by others. So for critics, it seems the band really cannot get it right. But also, who cares about critics...

[elroy bo]

I wonder if maybe they should finish after this one. It's not terrible. But better to leave before you suck...

[gustavothehuman]

2 hours ago, elroy bo said:

I wonder if maybe they should finish after this one. It's not terrible. But better to leave before you suck...

They're not going to put an end to their career because a bunch of pretentious hags think they deserve to die lol. Y'all take music critics too seriously, if we're going by what they say, Olivia Rodrigo's Sour is better than any Coldplay album.

We're getting three more records. Period. Now, if they do change some stuff, it will be because they want to please us fans, not Pitchfork writers. Those type of people never truly loved them anyway, just backhanded compliments at best.

Edited February 9, 2022 by gustavothehuman

[I ran away]

3 hours ago, elroy bo said:

I wonder if maybe they should finish after this one. It's not terrible. But better to leave before you suck...

By that logic they should have called it quits after GS, because the album that followed was easily their worst, AHFOD. But after AHFOD came Kaleidoscope EP and Everyday Life. So you never know masterpieces lie ahead. I'm sure they'll finish off strong with "Coldplay".

I do have to admit that sometimes, at this stage, the signs of the band aging cannot be hidden anymore. In their first decade their creative output was several times what they needed to release albums and even singles with many B-sides, so they could cherry-pick the very best songs. In their second decade they had just enough new ideas to fill albums without B-sides. In their third decade now, they are relying on reworking old ideas from the Viva and MX sessions to fill their albums. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's awesome that many cool ideas from those old eras see the light of day now. But it's also a sign of how their creative well is nowhere near as full anymore as it used to be.

[gustavothehuman]

12 hours ago, I ran away said:

By that logic they should have called it quits after GS, because the album that followed was easily their worst, AHFOD. But after AHFOD came Kaleidoscope EP and Everyday Life. So you never know masterpieces lie ahead. I'm sure they'll finish off strong with "Coldplay".

I do have to admit that sometimes, at this stage, the signs of the band aging cannot be hidden anymore. In their first decade their creative output was several times what they needed to release albums and even singles with many B-sides, so they could cherry-pick the very best songs. In their second decade they had just enough new ideas to fill albums without B-sides. In their third decade now, they are relying on reworking old ideas from the Viva and MX sessions to fill their albums. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, it's awesome that many cool ideas from those old eras see the light of day now. But it's also a sign of how their creative well is nowhere near as full anymore as it used to be.

As far as I remember only Arabesque and People of the Pride are reworks (which by the way can count as a form of art within itself), I think they still have a good amount of creativity in them but it's kinda hard to constantly channel it when people spend fifteen years saying that nothing you have done is good enough.