Our next featured Mylo Xyloto album review comes from the Daily Mail who have published their review of the new album today. For some their rating image isn't working so we don't know what they've given it - keep an eye on their link for that. Their review is positive and focuses on the collaboration with Rihanna, and the review is entitled "Coldplay are HOT: Rihanna cheers up Chris Martin, making his fifth album a triumph". However, they do criticise the flow of the concept storyline, writing: "The concept is a nebulous one, and it is hard to detect any real narrative from the way in which the tracks are sequenced." Their overall verdict: Big beats, bigger choruses. Read on for the review...
Three years ago, as Coldplay were about to release their fourth album, a tetchy Chris Martin seemed at odds with the world. He walked out of an interview when asked about his wife, Gwyneth Paltrow, and cut short an appearance on Radio 4 by saying he didn’t like ‘having to talk about things’.
These days, the mood in Britain’s biggest band is brighter. Coldplay will still be nervous about their enigmatically-titled fifth album, Mylo Xyloto, but on the surface at least, they appear more relaxed: reaching No 1 in 36 countries, as they did with their last album, works wonders for your self-esteem. Their confidence will have been further boosted by a triumphant Glastonbury appearance in June, when they outshone fellow headliners U2 to deliver a masterclass in the art of entertaining an open-air crowd.
They even defied conventional festival wisdom by successfully introducing a handful of new songs. That self-belief shines through again on Mylo Xyloto. The fact that several of these songs were played live before the band began recording has given them an immediacy that might have been lacking had they only been worked on in a darkened studio. Whatever else his critics say about him — and there are plenty who still find him insufferable — it is hard to deny Chris Martin’s ability to produce a catchy, crowd-pleasing hook.
There are plenty of those here, with the surging Hurts Like Heaven, the song with which the band opened their Glastonbury set, and current single Paradise, powered by epic, sing-along choruses. The changes of direction, when they arrive, are subtle. With former Roxy Music man Brian Eno prominent, the electronic undercurrents are more pronounced than before. More surprising is the incorporation of pop, dance and urban elements. Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall is enhanced by propulsive, danceable rhythms. There is a guest appearance, too, from soul queen Rihanna, who duets on Princess Of China, a jittery synth-pop workout.
But despite Martin’s high-profile friendship with rap mogul Jay-Z and his wife Beyonce, Coldplay haven’t suddenly plunged headlong into hip-hop and R&B in a cringe-worthy bid to up their street cred. As befits four privately educated musicians who met at University College, London, theirs is a refined, middle-class appropriation of the electronic rhythms currently dominating the singles chart.
The pounding beats that bassist Guy Berryman and drummer Will Champion whip up at the beginning of Paradise might represent a departure of sorts, but the song is essentially a default Coldplay piano ballad, sung in a yearning falsetto and underscored by majestic strings and a heavenly choir.
So what is Mylo Xyloto all about? According to Martin, it is, wait for it, a concept album: a love story in which Mylo and Xyloto are the two main characters. If so, the concept is a nebulous one, and it is hard to detect any real narrative from the way in which the tracks are sequenced. There is, however, a little more substance than previously. Since becoming a father, Martin has discovered an ability to write lyrics that are heartfelt and tender. And like all good love stories, the album ends on a life-affirming note, as Up With The Birds adds an atmospheric finale.
It might not win them any fresh admirers, but Mylo Xyloto will delight existing Coldplay fans.
October 2011: Your One-Stop-Shop for Coldplay Info! (Updated: 20th October) [thanks ApproximatelyInfinite]
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