Coldplay's fifth album - Mylo Xyloto - is now over a week old (officially anyway) and as well as the media reviews we've been posting we promised another batch of Coldplayer 'first impression' reviews, along with the latest poll results from the main site and the forums. So far we've had in total somewhere in the region of 2500 votes asking what you thought of Mylo Xyloto - on a sliding scale from 10 (Brilliant) to 0 (Crap). Read on for some more of those reviews and also the latest polling figures...
If you haven't yet voted you can do so now on our sliding scale poll to the right of your screen and also here in the first impressions thread. You can read and join in with more discussion on the new album at the Mylo Xyloto forum now. [Many thanks to everyone who has given their views so far...!]
Wow. I am really shocked how much I like Mylo Xyloto. I think all the negative talk on here the last few months made me feel apprehensive towards the album to be honest - I wasn't really sure how to listen to it for the first time. I am very glad that I did not listen to the leak or listen to the entire album before I had the 320 kpbs official version. The first half of the album I was mostly familiar with due to the singles, live versions and the side A sampler. The only song on side B that I had heard was Major Minus. Obviously, the second part of the album was what I was looking forward to the most as it was mostly new, unheard Coldplay! I can definitely see why this album has fans divided. It is a new sound for Coldplay in terms of production and direction. However, there are many tracks where 'early' Coldplay is still there, just under new layers. Utimately, I gave the album a 9/10, which surprised me. I do truly feel it deserves it though. It is a good mix of all the previous albums, while still moving forward. [thanks mrman78]
I've just been listening to the album a lot more and i've arrived at my final verdict. Originally it was a 4 out of 5, i've taken it down to a 3.5. It's not a bad album, but at the same time that's the inherent problem with it, it's absolutely impossible for this album to offend because it ticks all the appropriate "pop" boxes that are relevant for 2011. That's not to say that's all it does, but the effect is noticeable. As I said in my previous review, there's no disputing the talent of this band and the boundaries they can break. You can hear elements of it on this album and can just imagine where they can go, but they don't because the pop sensibilities kick in. With absolutely any band or artist, that pisses me off. It's like a tease, you know they can go further in a way that would both be interesting and non-compromising to their identity as a band, but they just don't. For this reason, I disagree with the comparisons to U2 because they experimented with their sound in the 1990s and took it as far as they could as a quartet and at no point did they ever fail to be U2. For me, it worked and I admire them for it. This is what i'd like to see Coldplay do next. I stress again, not a bad album at all, but it could have been so much more especially in light of this being the follow up to Viva La Vida, my favourite Coldplay album. The thing with this album is i'm just struggling to find my "moment". After the first or second listen of Viva La Vida, I knew I loved Lost and would play the whole album again just to get to that track because of the atmosphere created by the percussion and Chris' haunting, brooding vocals. After that, it was Yes with its twangy, experimental sound and then Viva La Vida for its sheer beauty before it became a hit. I had things to lock onto which is what made the repeat listens so inviting. Plus, the overall tone of the album was just fantastic. With MX, it's just hard to find that moment. Sure, I love Major Minus because to me it feels like Yes meets Violet Hill. U.F.O and Up With The Birds have grown on me a lot. But even with those songs, I haven't identified with an actual lyric or riff that makes me go "yeah - lets hear those twenty seconds again!" The album leaves me satisfied, but not full. It's not their worst, X&Y, which just left me exhausted and drowsy. But with this, I just have no point of reference (so far) to really remember the album by. [thanks TryWhistlingThis]
I have been listening to the album non-stop for a whole week despite not being initially wowed by it and feeling kinda disappointed. I guess the excitement of having new Coldplay music was stronger than my disappointment and that made me need to listen to the whole album on repeat. That was until I got a couple of other albums yesterday, now I haven't listened to Mylo Xyloto in 2 days and don't think I'll be listening any time soon. So that's what I think it's the main problem about this album: it ticks the right boxes, it won't really offend anybody, it will make Coldplay fans devour the music and they won't be able to get enough of it for a while... until the novelty of it goes ... I don't see this album having any lasting power but I hope to be proven wrong. I'm still looking forward to seeing Coldplay live, but I'm sad this album doesn't even get close to having the effect ALL their previous albums had on me (including X&Y, which nobody seems to like and I absolutely LOVE together with AROBTTH). I welcome change and experimentation, as long as the results are good and actually work. [thanks francvi]
only had the time to listen to it twice, but I loved it on the first time round, unlike the last one which took me a few listens! There were a couple of songs which I wasn't sure of, but they are in no way crap, far from it, second listen and they are already getting under my skin. crackin' good album! [thanks belynelly]
I've gone once through it with a friend and listened to a couple of tracks after that. Right now I'm listening to it a second time. Apparently, the whole album is again a grower, just like many of the tracks we listened beforehand were. While I think that the album as a whole is definitely a success, I feel like several tracks on the album could use a rework considering production, especially Hurts Like Heaven, Major Minus and Princess Of China. Also, many songs really sound overloaded with electronic effects (which becomes obvious when you listen to acoustic songs like U.F.O. All in all, it seems really short, although it is not much shorter than Viva La Vida (only about a minute). Apparently that's what Coldplay wanted to achieve: a short and concise experience. I'd love to tack in some b-sides to expand it a bit, I somehow miss a bit of content. I like a lot the flow that the album has from Up In Flames onwards - after listening to Up In Flames separately, I just had to go on with the rest. I think I've only had that with Kid A before, and that's the best album I've ever heard I think. The transitions between the tracks in the first half are not as smooth though. ETIAW and MM do not flow at all. Mylo Xyloto has a lot of tiny flaws that make it unperfect for me. Somehow, I can't help the feeling that a lot of these tracks and the album as a whole would sound even better if several tracks were more stripped-down and acoustic and less loaded with layers of unnecessary electronic blubbers (Hurts Like Heaven, Paradise, Charlie Brown, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall and Major Minus come to mind). Sometimes, they are great to help the song (e.g. the instrumentals), most of them just make it too artificial. I think this album has deserved at least 7 out of 10 stars for me, but it is too early for me to decide on it at that point. I guess I'd rank it close to VLV and above X&Y. Impossible to compare it to Parachutes and AROBTTH though, this album is completely different. My favourites at the moment: Charlie Brown, U.F.O., Don't Let It Break Your Heart, second half of Up With The Birds. [thanks Schröder]
I've listened to it 3 times already and I can't get enough of it. Loving the second half better than the first but I think it's because the live shows spoiled the first half of the album for me. I think if I didn't listen to the new songs from the live shows, it wouldn't have ruined the album for me. Still love it though as there are differences in the songs from the live shows. [thanks shred]
I'm on my fourth full listen through of the album. It's a good, solid album, but I'm not in love with it even on the 4th listen. This is kind of wierd for me. I fell immediately in love with Viva the first time I listened to it, same with Rush and Parachutes. X&Y took me a tiny bit longer to appreciate, but not that long. Just a few listens (I became a fan during X&Y era btw). It's a lukewarm reception for me. Maybe it had to deal with the promotional roll-out for this album? I exhaustively listened to all the singles and summer live performances becuase I was so excited. I think that excitement has worn off by now. I knew almost exactly what the album would sound like before I even got it. Also, I think the thing that kills my favorite songs from over the summer is the production. I don't mind production, Viva had plenty of production on it, but in a way that worked with the music. The production on Mylo Xyloto just kind of suffocates the songs. I can hear the beauty of the original "stripped down" songs such as Us Against the World and Charlie Brown that were part of the original "stripped down" album and I just want to tear off the production and have that raw sound that they originally had. I feel they would be stronger songs that way, although their studio counterparts aren't terrible by any means. I like some fine parts Charlie Brown, such as the piano outro, that get to be shown in their full glory on the album. I am not a fan of the voice affects on Hurts like Heaven. It was such a good song live, and it just completely lost it's power in the studio. Another song I have issues with are Up in Flames. I'm really just not a fan. I don't see the beauty in it whatsoever. I don't like the drum beat and Up in Flames is repeated one too many times. On to the positive. Princess of China wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, but I still don't enjoy it on the album. I would have much rather had Moving to Mars. I just don't like featuring artists on my Coldplay albums. I feel that it should have been a b-side or one of Chris's other side projects with the Hip-Hop and R&B artists he is so obsessed with. I really like A Hopeful Transmission, DLIBYH, and Up With the Birds. They all flow extremely well together and make a strong close to the album. Overall I guess I would give the album a 7/10. I gave it an 8 in the poll when I was listening for the first time, but I was over-excited. I need to listen to it many many times to see how much I will actually like it in the scheme of things. [thanks lotrobsessed101]
I'll have to re-review this in a week or so because I need to let it sink in. Overall, I think it's good. But I can't help thinking that this album would have been much better without the insane amount of production that went into this. Im interested to see how this album grows on me ill have to see how I feel in a week. I just have this feeling like im going to get tired of these songs fast. There aren't many times on the album where I get that real coldplay feeling that I'm used to on their other albums. I'm worried for the direction they're heading. Chris is always saying how the POC song was his favorite part of the album and if thats the case... what will the next album be like?! They'll never beat parachutes in my opinion, but I think they can do a bit better than Mylo Xyloto. Hopefully ill change my mind! [thanks grim99]
I only listened to the album twice and am looking forward to re-post after several listenings. I remember being excited about VLV already after the first listen and loving it right then and there, even though it took time to really get into some of the songs. As for MX, my first impression was that the A-side (up to Major Minus) is probably the greatest A-side ever made: it truly feels and sounds like a collection of greatest hits. Each song is super solid: pure gold. The B-side is, in my opinion, less impressive, though featuring excellent tracks like PoC and MM. The fact that the b-side contains all the really new songs make me think that I will have to listen to it a few more times before making up my mind about them. I found it very weird to be able to sing on most songs, due to the intensive early live promotion, EP and songs streaming on iTunes. Time will tell whether this is a good thing or not. So far then a great A-side and glimmers of brilliance on B-side. [thanks valypan]
Overall - I too would give it an 8.5 out of 10. I can hear the story, or at least my version of it, although I get a bit lost somewhere between Charlie Brown and U.F.O. Even so, feels very filmic. My favourite thing is the repeated melody from MX though, hidden at various points of the album. U.F.O. and AHT/DLIBYH are my highlights, although HLH is a close 3rd. If you haven't bought it yet, buy it now! [thanks JJB]
Viva's going to be timeless I think, but MX is not just 'of its time' but also possibly very dated already I think. The electronica (the breaks in PoC and the terrible 'CD is scratched' effect in BLIBYH spring to mind as some of the worst offenders) haven't seen their like in dance music since the mid-90s I don't think, and for good reason. And there is an awful lot of 80s influence in there that sounds totally redundant and utterly self-indulgent to me (having lived through that time myself). There was none of that on Viva. It was all new and original and still sounds fresh to me. Almost all of MX sounds derivative. Still early days so I really do hope my opinion changes! [thanks Tonsu]
5/10. It isn't actually what I was looking forward to for three years, but it taught me not to expect anything from Coldplay in the future. At the moment I feel like I wouldn't care much should they decide to retire. Their so desired masterpiece was made long before MX, anyway. As to the content of MX: My favourites are UATW and surprisingly, Up with The Birds. UATW was enchanting from the first time I heard it months ago. The studio version doesn't suffer any unnecessary changes and it sounds even more soft and friendly,Chris's voice there. I quite like UWTB, too. The eerie background in the first, solemn part of the song is mind-blowing, I would never have believed Coldplay could use something as wicked as that, especially not after my indifference, or rather disappointment with the most of what they produced this era. And then the unexpected, exuberant turn of the song. Liked that too. For me, this song is the only one where Coldplay succeed to surprise, in a positive way. It contains the reminiscences of the band I once loved. CB, HLH, ETIAW,Paradise and MM have remained the same and I already discussed them someplace else. I can't decide as to DLIBYH and UFO yet. That might signify they may be worth while. Princess of China- Ugh. The quality is not much better than that of the recorded video. Rihanna isn't helping much, either. I think all the intros (MX, MMIX, AHT) are stupid. As in, them being separate songs is completely unnecessary. Of the three, MX sounds quite nice and embellished, but I would tie it up with an actual song, that song not being HLH or any other of the album,though. It is such a shame to have MTM left out, but it obviously wasn't their thing this time. This is the first Coldplay album I have no intention of buying and I'm happy I haven't pre-ordered it. There are definitely albums more worth my money out there. RegulusBlack]
Comparing Coldplay to U2 is one of the easiest things to do. It’s simple to understand though; both have massive appeal, are charitable and after this album Coldplay will join U2 to become easy targets for Indie snobs to feast upon. Follow up to an epic album is much harder than a disappointing one. The expectation are high, the comparison inevitable and fetching for similarities evident. In this case “Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends”, an album which not only established Coldplay as “The Biggest Band of The World” but saw their creative juices flowing to an ever high. So how do you plan for the next album? By naming it “Mylo Xyloto” of course. Original ideas are hard to find. But christening your record to words which have no place in Dictionary or any meaning is evidence to lengths to which the band can go for marking a whole new impression on listeners. Started off as an acoustic album, “Mylo Xyloto” was previously planned to act as a soundtrack to a movie, pieces of which are evident in the record. Influences from other popular music styles (RnB, hip-hop, electronic etc.) cropped in and it soon turned into a composite of everything. A dynamic mix to convey a story and hence Coldplay’s first concept album is born. Never have Coldplay paid such high attention to detail. They have worked their heart out to get it right, to convey a message, to paint a picture, to make it more graphic. Some may call it “over-produced” but it’s important to know that everything (from addition of noises to effects) was carried out to say a story (as stated above). This album hits out emotionally in much more direct ways than “Viva La Vida” ever did and Jonny assumes a lead role for most of the parts. With Mylo Xyloto, Coldplay have managed to enter the new decade with an album that showcases not only their versatility but also the intent of staying relevant by re-inventing themselves time and again. It’s not their “Achtung Baby”, it’s their “Mylo Xyloto”. [thanks Saketblitz - read more]
I'm not very articluate so I can't really put into words why exactly....but I love this album from start to finish. I have listened to it daily and am not getting tired of it yet. I guess it's because I like the upbeat dancy type songs, and these ones are done by Coldplay. So I have the best of both worlds in my opinion. I thought I was going to be disappointed by the fact that there are a lot of songs that are a different style than we're used to. No. Love them all. [thanks mamgirl]
Uncompromising isn't a word readily associated with Coldplay. All too often the critics will point to some kind of appeasement in the band's output - either to the fans, perennial favourite the label, or to the critics themselves. Frankly, at this point in their career the band should pretty much be their own boss. Their success and mass appeal today is almost peerless and this shouldn't be something to be ashamed of (even if they continue to yearn for Radiohead's credibility). So the overriding feeling with new LP Mylo Xyloto is that intention is to write songs on their own terms, unhindered from all the external baggage that goes along with being billed as one of music's big boys. Themes of defiance, adventure, paranoia, pain and resilience are all here (no doubt quite familiar by now), but whether they constitute a 'concept' is up for debate. MX is fortunately blessed with the ever-present rich, soaring Coldplay trademark melody - nobody does it better. However on this particular outing it is painted (or should that be spray-painted?!) by a bass-heavy electro/R&B production. As a result it exudes a pomp, vigour and energy rarely tapped into by the band previously. It works surprisingly well. The spine is imperious - from the drum driven question-asker Hurts Like Heaven, to mid-tempo single Paradise and then the adventurous Charlie Brown. Centre-point raver Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall is joyful and unbound (albeit lyrically challenged), on to paranoid stomper Major Minus and later the yearning swagger of Rihanna-enhanced Princess of China (although try and ignore the la la la's in the chorus). Penultimate track Don't Let It Break Your Heart is punchy and brash, if a tad on the short side. But, there is a flaw with this record. Having set their stall out early and with the great beyond for once in sight, the retreat back to a zone of acoustic comfort is all too quick. The head of steam achieved in the first four tracks and then later after ETIAW and Major Minus, is rather negligently disposed of. The band has admitted in press that there were two albums in development - an electro and an acoustic. You get the feeling that both could have co-existed well in their own right, but together the sum of the parts isn't greater. Whilst UFO is as good a melodic song that the band have done in recent times, and Up In Flames is beautifully simple, with more self-discipline maybe they shouldn't have made the cut. Along with the stripped down wailer Us Against The World, these could have worked wonders on a standalone LP or Prospekts March-esque follow-up. What Mylo Xyloto would have become as a result is a ballsy, relentless powerhouse electro-rock record from start to finish - a real statement to all and sundry. Instead the result is at times a disjointed effort, which meanders from what makes this album potentially fantastic. Yes, the quieter numbers are strong in their own right, but you have to question whether they fit. But to focus on the negative would do disservice to Mylo Xyloto, because there is much to praise. Sonically Coldplay continue to evolve and experiment where others rest on their laurels. The band offer a far more coherent proposition than predecessor Viva La Vida, where perhaps too much of guru Brian Eno's musical chemistry set were experimented with. If you buy into the 'new' electro sound (which some hardcore Coldplay-ers might not) then you'll love it. Hurts Like Heaven (although a little under-cooked in its studio guise) and Charlie Brown stand up amongst the best in the band's back catalogue to date. Complex closer Up With The Birds is also a highlight. Ironically it brings together the acoustic and electric seamlessly here, and is hopefully a sign of things to come. Coldplay uncompromising though? Agonisingly not quite, yet... 7/10. [thanks IpsRich]
Kit yourself up and get spotted for the forthcoming MX tour with Coldplaying's new range of merchandise! [click on the items for the full shop]
The new range of Coldplaying merchanise (unofficial of course to the official shop) has hit our stores, with our biggest range of goods so far. Prices are as low as they can be for a Cafepress shop so more people will be able to afford them. We don't take any profits for the sale of the merchandise as a result. Take a browse in one of the online stores nearest to you: UK | US | Canada | Australia | European (shipping is worldwide, but you can choose what currency to pay in) - simply alter the country dropdown menu at the top of the shop page. [thanks to TracieMorgan and zzz]
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