So, Coldplay are back. Chris Martin & Co return with their latest effort following 2008's disappointing Viva la Vida. And once again they continue their trend of unusual album names, with Mylo Xyloto apparently meaning.....well nothing at all the words are complete nonsense. Fortunately, the music doesn't follow suit with this being Coldplay's best effort since the excellent A Rush of Blood to the Head.
The Album begins with 'Mylo Xyloto' which is basically an instrumental one of three which basically act as some sort of pointless longer introduction to the songs that follow them, there's no reason for these to be included. Prehaps its to make the album see longer on track listings who knows? The album continues into an energetic blast in 'Hurts Like Heaven' which outlines what is to come for the rest of the album with Coldplay's take on pop as they said that this was the 'pop' album. The album continues with second single 'Paradise' which well has it all strings, synths, falsetto and generally crappy lyrics but to be honest that what makes Coldplay so special it never really matters what crap Martins singing about as the majority of the time it will end up and as catchy as the best of their work. Paradise is one of those songs which will work brilliantly live especially with the already included 'woooaaah woooooooaahhhhh's included in almost as a guideline for the fans at Glastonbury or whereever the 4 piece may be playing next and Paradise is not the only song with this well....almost all of them do so your guarenteed your fair share of 'wooahhhs' and crowd interaction at a Coldplay gig. Next up is for me the highlight of the album 'Charlie Brown' put simply it's classic Coldplay with another catchy riff a la 'In My Place' by Johnny Buckland. It's no wonder the band decided to play 'Charlie Brown' throughout the summer festival dates as it is just a brilliant song. Another song which deserves an honourable mention as a highlight of the album is the more rockier, heavier 'Major Minus' which actually has a guitar solos and gives the listener a lovely return to the days of A Rush of Blood to the Head. The albums lead single 'Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall' is a bit cheesy with its opening lyrics but all in all it's not a bad song however personally I wouldn't have chosen it as the lead single.
Also on the album is 'Primcess Of China' which features R&B goddess Rihanna which shows just how hard these Coldplay lads are going to work to make this 'pop' album work. The song for me just seems a bit throwaway and the inclusion of the Barbadian singer coming off the better from the song but it just seems a bit pointless and more of a marketing move then a dream collaboration. The albums low point comes with 'Up in Flames' which drags the album along before is it picked up by classic Coldplay sounds in 'Don't Let it Break Your Heart.' The Album finishes with 'Up With the Birds' which samples Leonard Cohen and ends the album without the bang it began with. All in all this is a fairly good album which is let down by poor lyrical work which I feel comes from the story the album is supposed to be telling a rather ambitious one, however with Coldplay visiting the sounds that remind us of their past works yet managing to make it seem like something completely different and continues bringing us the anthems the fans crave.
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