Mylo Xyloto Review

     Coldplay’s front man Chris Martin clad in a gray elephant suit riding a unicycle, Chris Martin and the other band members in elephant suits playing in the middle of a field. If this sounds a bit unusual for the musical philosophers, that’s because it is. Reaching back to their first album, Parachutes, British superstar group Coldplay has lightened their musical style considerably since their debut. A comedian once joked that listening to Coldplay made him want to “slit his wrists;” not an unfair statement to make considering the quartet’s first two melancholy, piano centric albums. Over their next three albums, the group changed up their style with lighter, more synthetic sounds, less suicide-friendly sounds.

Their new, more buoyant sound has reached its pinnacle with their latest and fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto. Lead singles “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall” and “Paradise” are accurate markers of the depth of the album, which reaches about as deep as the kid’s pool at Club Med. Example: the opening lyrics to “Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall,” are, “I turn the music up, I’ve got my records on…” Second single “Paradise” features the group members in elephant costumes, and leaves fans with a cringing, gimmicky feeling.

A far cry from moving hits such as “The Scientist” and “Clocks,” Mylo Xyloto’s contents are more beach party than rainy day. As with many musical acts that have reached such elevated levels of success as Coldplay, the pressure to duplicate such success can lead to formulaic music. Utilizing the synthetic sound of the group’s last two albums that was well received by the masses and peppering in some of their early downcast sound, Mylo Xyloto plays on the formula that has brought them past success. Only this time it feels much less heartfelt, as though the band is simply going through the motions.  

The album has been received with mixed reviews. While fun and pleasant to listen to, it isn’t exactly the hard-hitting music we are used to from Coldplay that tugs on our heartstrings. Now a father, celebrity, husband, and best friend to rapper Jay-Z, perhaps Chris Martin and the rest of his band are simply happy, but we can’t help but miss their darker days.

*This article was written for my Narrative Non-Fiction course.