lennyrott1

Acoustic Review TLDR: Honestly, I'm kinda disappointed at the lack of a new performance & overall production. I really appreciate the band giving us a version of the song that has some instrumental call backs to Oldplay, but I wish they delivered a better recording that added some unique flavor to this acoustic version (think strings from LiJ, more choir vocals on COTW NPR). I'll overall forget this probably like I did the Princess of China acoustic version, which feels super similar to what we got here 10 years later.

^This. Exactly this. Production is one thing, but songwriting is another. My issue with Newplay isn't necessarily that Jonny's guitar or Guy's is sometimes mixed poorly (though that is a problem), it's mostly that some songs just aren't as sharply written or as catchy as Oldplay. Higher Power is overall a well written song with fun, clean production. But does it feel as cinematic as Paradise? Or as danceable as AOAL? Or as catchy as Magic? Or as energetic and raw as Orphans? Not in my opinon. Only time will tell on how MOTS shapes out -- I doubt it will be 100% pop songs, but the ratio co

Couple things have stood out over the past few days : 1. Chris' discussion of Max Martin seems to suggest the album will be very poppy, which I think we already were expecting. He basically said that Max is helping members of the band realize they can make songs that are more pop. Hard to know if he was talking about Higher Power or this whole era. 2. The band is still recording? Chris said he had a song for Max Martin just the other day, and it seems like they're doing their interviews from the same building where they could be wrapping up the record. So maybe MOTS wasn't finished

Honestly I'd love it if GaGa was featured on a song and it became apparent that Chromatica exists in the same universe. It would be like the Coldplay Extended Universe, featuring Chromatic, Silencia, and Kaotica.

Yeah I think I'm expecting a AHFOD-type era in terms of pop/alternative balance. Higher Power may end up being a mid-album track like AOAL, Human Heart might be in the middle as well. It sounds like MOTS is gonna open up the album and in your left ear, you can hear a slow low-frequency build up that will likely transition into the first track. I know some folks think that it's HP -- but I feel like that transition isn't very clean sounding. I suspect a different opening track. I then think we'll get at least 2 more big pop singles featuring some big artists, and then two or three more alternat

that's awesome @MosesTheMarshmallow!!! I'll check y'all out. And yes @Coeurlithat's helpful! It took me a super long time to understand what the heck AHFOD was about & I had no idea MX told a story until Coldplay said so. I guess I've been hoping for a while that if the band did a "concept album" that the concept would be really apparent and clear. So now we have this "planet" concept and space, but it feels like it's going to another album where you kind of have to do your homework and piece to the loose/general themes together to get it. I guess I was hoping for more than "you're a

I think we all know that MOTS will be an album, but I wonder how they will release music during this era. Gorillaz for example just did that "Song Machine" series where they collaborated with a bunch of artists and released EP's that eventually were put into one album, or "season" like a TV show. There's also precedent for Coldplay releasing songs that don't make the next album (Atlas, Moving to Mars, Goldrush). I wonder if the MOTS era will have more to offer than just the singles and albums. At this point, HP (as Kaotica) and Human Heart, and the MOTS intro seem very likely for the alb

I'm not sold on the BTS collab yet. Why would the leak just say "Korean, Korean, Korean?" If was coming from an official source, it would be translated or written out. Also, BTS has been doing most of it's big recent singles in English, so I I'd imagine if they collabed with Coldplay it would be. We'll see. If it ends up being true, this era is shaping up to be quite poppy, which I think we anticipated. The question for me is whether they'll make room for some truly alternative tracks. If they have them, we sure haven't heard them. And before you say Human Heart is an alt track -- yes it

Yeah basically agree with everything being said here. What feels most likely is we get some alternative tracks drawing from other 80's artists like Talking Heads, Depeche Mode & some maybe even influence from the Eno Eras (weird spacey noises, different time signatures, more Jonny). But we also know Max Martin could be a credited producer on every song, which likely means more clean production and pop sounds (Guy even said in a recent interview they're focusing on "studio techniques" which sounds like a pop production euphemism). On top of that, we have confirmed help from Jacob Collier (h

Loving new Glastonbury songs, but they also make me a bit nervous that LP9 (MOTS) is just gonna be a loose concept like MX that doesn't fully live up to the "space album" hype. This is what I expected, but still I'm worried the album could be inconsistent.

I freaking love Boys of Summer -- the synths, guitar solos, driving beat, soaring vocals. It's funny because I LOVE 80's music. I have multiple playlists of synthpop & pop rock from the 80's -- New Order, Duran Duran, A-Ha, Don Henley, Eagles, Kate Bush, Bangles, Prince, Pet Shop Boys, Violent Femmes, Van Halen... The problem I think Coldplay runs into is that they want to make music inspired by those artists and genres but they often fall short of fully leaping into it & embracing it. There's a certain restraint the band has had over the past 10 years, where song ultimately quie

I did a weird thing. I listened to the song a million times the other week but then cold stopped for 5 days. By the fourth day, I was listening to a lot of other music and I basically had forgot the way the synths sounded and couldn't even hum the bass. I listened to the song again and I feel like with the initial excitement gone, my overall opinion has reduced a bit to putting HP on par with AOAL and HFTW, the weaker singles of Coldplay's 2010 catalogue. So like maybe a 6-7/10. I saw some folks on reddit talk about it, but it does feel like a really well produced, constructed song

@harrisonrules -- Check out Los Unidades and Global Citizen EP ! Lucky you, you're going to get some new Coldplay songs today! Coldplay released an EP under the pseudonym "los unidades" a few years back and it's actually really good. Voodoo is a track Chris talked about around the MX era that never got released until recently. It features production from Calvin Harris, backing vocals from Tiwa Savage, and a dope verse from Danny Ocean. I don't ever remember Car Kids being connected to Voodoo?

Yeah that's a good guess. I am also really hoping for a new song but based on the rumors that the album is coming towards the end of the year I am worried Higher Power is all we are gonna get for the next few months. Maybe a remix or feature will drop with BTS. I am really craving other songs in this era now and hopeful we will get some really rocky tracks.

I've been doing some thinking about scenarios for the upcoming era and why I'm feeling optimistic. The TLDR is I'm really excited the band is working with Max Martin b/c he feels like a producer that uplifts artists to new heights vs. takes over with his own sound. But still I am hoping MOTS is a sister album to EL in that it recycles old ideas from Coldplay's most creative eras, Viva & MX, which will give us some heavy rockers and interesting alien soundscapes. What expectations do you have? If MOTS just gonna be newplay on steroids? Oldplay? A mix?