42Escapist

I'm guessing the AHFOD era will end sometime in 2017. Then, the band will take an extended hiatus just so they can spend more much needed time with their families.

Amazing Day is currently my favorite song from AHFOD as well. I haven't felt this way about a new Coldplay song very much in the past couple of eras. It's just so beautiful, tender, and joyful. Who cares if the lyrics aren't that innovative? The vocal delivery, melody, strings, and guitar make up for them.

That's true. It's mediocre for a Coldplay song but I prefer it to most hip hop...

Same here. After a week of listening, the song is finally starting to click with me. The lyrics aren't bad and that organ sound is unlike anything I've heard from the band. If I had to change one thing, I would only make the song a bit longer.

I'd say Rumi's poetry like The Guest House has become a big part of Chris' life and influenced his personal growth in the past couple of years. Sure, he's still kinda dorky, but he's more comfortable in his own skin. The whole band is ecstatic to be alive! Not even the MX era was quite this joyful and appreciative of life in general.

All they want is Britney Spears. I won't judge anyone who enjoys her music, but... come on. This might be the least watched halftime show in a while simply because people won't quit whining.

Nice playlist. ;) I would probably be extremely satisfied if those ideas for the future were to actually come true... the collaborations don't bother me (it's more of a question of who they collaborate with instead of whether or not they choose to collaborate), but the other three are spot on. AHFOD would be classic Coldplay for me if it met those criteria. Not that I dislike AHFOD or rate it was low as you do, but... it could be much better. You have some great points. :)

What a nice little set... no songs were "surprises" but I'm just glad to hear the band returning to doing what they do best.

I Love You All The Time - Eagles of Death Metal

I can't help but have a flood of tears in my eyes as I watch this... U2 letting Eagles of Death Metal on stage at the end of their concert in Paris.

The song is just fine with Chris singing Rihanna's part... it's awkward having such a substantial prerecorded vocal part playing. I get that they think the song is "complete" with Rihanna, but I'd rather her either be there in person or not at all. Oh well, at least the band had fun with it today. I've always thought it sounds better live so I won't complain if they play it on the tour.

A Head Full Of Dreams - There's a lot more "going on" in the studio version than the live version I had previously heard. The atmospherics and Jonny's guitar playing steal the song for me. I admit I originally expected more of a DLIBYH kind of song, with less U2 influence, but I was pleasantly surprised to get something a little more reminiscent of Hurts Like Heaven and ETIAW; AHFOD is very uptempo (Guy and Will are on fire!) and has one of the catchiest melodies Coldplay have ever written. It's not my favorite track on the album but it's a solid opener. Well done. 8.5/10 Birds - Now I see where a lot of the Phoenix and indie comparisons come from; this is a bit different from anything the band has done before but the lyrics are far better than expected and I actually don't mind the electronic drums. When they're not used like they are in Up In Flames, True Love, or X Marks The Spot (I'll get to that one later...), they sound more natural and they don't stick out like a sore thumb. This one's going to be amazing live. 8.5/10 Hymn For The Weekend - From my first listen to the snippet I assumed I was going to despise this song, but... now that I've heard it, it's starting to make some sense. It's still generic pop to my ears but there's something about it that sets it apart... and it's not just that jungle noise intro that is snippetted in the AOAL video. It's that melody and the fact that the lyrics aren't complete and total crap. Sure, they're repetitive, and I never would've imagined Chris singing about being drunk and high (LOL), but they're less cliche than most music of this type. I don't love the song, and I don't even really like it either because of the genre, but it is better thought out and better produced than either Princess of China or ASFOS. I can actually tolerate listening to it. 6.5/10 Everglow - This song is like Proof combined with Magic and Up In Flames... except the whole is better than the sum of its parts. The lyrics are better than each song combined, the drums aren't generic, annoying, and electronic, and there's a brief yet gorgeous guitar solo towards the end. The synths give off an X&Y vibe but there is also a lot of GS in the song. However, despite the GS similarities, it is produced in a way that makes everything listenable without sounding too polished. Heck, I don't even mind the Gwyneth Paltrow "Heys" throughout the track. The live version is better, but the studio version is great as well. I hear some Oldplay here, and even though there is a lot of the signature Newplay sounds as well, it is a great compromise between the two sides. I absolutely dig this song, maybe even more so than when it was released; it gives me this total Everglow. ;) 8.5/10. Adventure Of A Lifetime - I was a little underwhelmed by this one at first, but it’s safe to say now that it has grown on me. The Stargate production on this song is unnecessary and isn’t needed to produce that disco sound, but the riff is an ear worm in itself and the song proves that Will and Guy don’t need to be playing something musically complex to just drive the song along well. Lyrics are cheesy but better than most of GS. 7.5/10. Fun - This is yet another song with an amazing riff, but it’s more of a “meh” moment for me. There is a partly GS and partly X&Y sound going on but the song bores me a bit to be honest. The lyrics are nice and Tove Lo sounds good. 7.5/10 Kaleidoscope - This is more of an interlude than a full song, but it’s still beautiful. The Guest House is inspiring and it’s basically where the whole album’s themes come from. Very nice. :) 9/10 Army Of One - I seriously thought I’d enjoy this song more. There are good things about it, like that cool organ sound and the melody, but it’s a bit boring. The lyrics are okay, too bad they aren’t the Viva throwback that the title kind of suggests. 7/10 X Marks The Spot - Ughhhhhhhh……. this sounds like a Chris Martin solo cover of a Justin Bieber song. No originality whatsoever, and something I will probably never want to listen to again. The lyrics are a joke and I can barely tell that’s even Coldplay. It gets 2 points only because it’s an experiment. 2/10 Amazing Day - Wow! I’ve reiterated a few times that Amazing Day was amazing live, and the studio version is almost at the same level. There’s the same tenderness and emotion that appears in songs like The Scientist… though it’s not quite as good, it pulls off the mood perfectly. Davide Rossi’s strings are so beautiful and the whole band is spot on. My only complaint is that the electronic drums aren’t necessary. My first listen to the live version put tears in my eyes and the studio version was no exception. Wow. Well done, Coldplay; this is one of the very best songs since Viva. 9/10 Colour Spectrum - This one’s pretty cool. It’s a combination of almost every song on the album, with a bit of the same feeling as the Oceans outro. I guess it’s the closest we got to an ambient song, a la The Escapist. It’s a nice transition into Up&Up… 8/10 Up&Up - This song is approaching classic Coldplay levels for me. Wow. The live version is better because of the piano but the sweetness of the studio version with the choir, the chorus, and Noel and Jonny’s solos makes up for the piano’s relative absence in most of the song. I prefer the live outro with the “Believe in love” part, but this sounds good too; it sounds like O! The lyrics are so uplifting yet they somehow avoid becoming cheesy. Up&Up is a very fitting conclusion and is one of the best album closers in Coldplay’s entire discography. Amsterdam is better, but this is close. Nearly perfect. 9.5/10 Average score: 7/10 Overall, this album is far better than expected. It’s simply more inspired than the last two albums and though it’s inferior to most Oldplay, there are a few songs that I’d consider classics. Stargate kept a few songs from reaching their full potential, but there weren’t any serious production flops like DLIBYH where the whole song drowns in a wall of sound. A few songs were somewhat boring, Hymn For The Weekend sounds generic, X Marks The Spot is trash, and there is no acoustic song, but everything else is strong. Right now I’m liking this better than MX; it’s like MX done right for the most part and the return to real drums on some tracks is nice.

My current ranking is: 1. Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends (Strawberry Swing) 2. X&Y (White Shadows) 3. A Rush of Blood to the Head (Politik) 4. A Head Full of Dreams (either Amazing Day, Everglow, or Up&Up, I can't decide yet!) 5. Parachutes (Spies) 6. Mylo Xyloto (Major Minus) 7. Ghost Stories (Fly On)

That's awesome! What a nice coincidence, the only Coldplay songs I've ever heard in the store are Yellow, Viva La Vida, and ASFOS. Though I believe that stuff like Stargate is keeping the album from reaching its full potential, the album is far better than expected. My opinion might change over time, but for now I'd rank it the highest among all the Newplay albums. I didn't think I'd like it this much, tbh.

Their child Blue Ivy is part of the choir in Up&Up!

Hymn has more heart and soul for me for a few reasons. Even though I don't necessarily enjoy the direction the band decided to take, it just seems better executed. Princess of China is more of a Rihanna song to me and the production annoys me a bit. It has potential but only the live version really does it for me. As for ASFOS, Avicii kind of takes over and steers it in his own direction... which is fine I guess if the band wanted it to be a huge uplifting moment but it sticks out a bit in comparison to the rest of GS. In contrast, Hymn sounds more like Coldplay took the helm and, with Stargate's encouragement, tried to dive deep into a new sound. I know, I was just kidding there lol. :D

It sounds more like Magnificent from No Line On The Horizon to me. The intro is a bit similar and the guitar is similarly the epic centerpiece.

They are also in Colour Spectrum, which sounds even more like the end of Oceans.

Hmm, this song was underwhelming for me after enjoying the snippet, but it's not that bad I guess. Maybe one of the worse songs on the album for me but not the worst by a long shot. There aren't any Viva vibes that I had originally hoped for, but it's certainly not a bad song in my opinion. This one has potential to grow on me.

I'm posting a full album review/initial thoughts soon, but for now... this song actually exceeds my expectations. It's still generic over polished R&B pop to my ears, but... I sense more of the band's heart and soul that I believe has been sorely lacking in POC and ASFOS. Beyonce doesn't ruin the track and, for a pop song, it's actually fairly listenable. I'd take it any day over most of the American Top 40 radio. Though it's still mind boggling that Chris had the guts to write lyrics about being drunk and high lol. ;) Now, when I'm comparing HFTW to Coldplay's work as a whole, that's where the flaws are that prevent me from truly loving it. The whole idea of the song makes a bit more sense to me now that I've listened to it. I seriously had the lowest expectations I've ever had for a Coldplay song, and hated the snippet with a fiery passion, but this as a little better than expected. I give it 6.5/10, which is probably a very generous rating. For a song that I truly despise and will likely never learn to like, take a look at X Marks The Spot. Far worse than Hymn For The Weekend. ;)

For the first time in a few years, I will actually want to watch the halftime show. :P

Yay, I finally downloaded the album! I won't listen to it now. I'll wait til sometime tomorrow because I am just too tired at the moment. As soon as I have listened to the whole thing once or twice, I will finally post my thoughts on each track... Thank you Coldplaying for helping make the buildup to this album so enjoyable! This community makes me so glad to be a fan. :)

Well, now we know who that female voice is in the chorus of AOAL: Merry Clayton!

I've been busy and unable to post much but I can't wait... this is my second album release as a Coldplay fan so even if I end up having mixed feelings about the album, it has still been a fun buildup. :) Just like alisbe, I won't be watching the iHeart Radio release party show today but I will absolutely watch it tomorrow. And I'm glad you enjoy the album, gentleparachute. :)

I've never heard Christmas Lights inside a store or on the radio... which is a shame because all the other Christmas music is quite Ridiculously overplayed.