Mylo Xyloto is, above all else, an interesting listen. The songs don’t all sound the same, and you can happily loop it over and over again without getting fatigued. I have to credit Coldplay for doing something so different to what I expected they would. It sounds like Coldplay, and yet it doesn’t. To move away from a successful sound that’s worked before into something new takes balls. Well done, guys!
I’ve done a track by track review below, but for anyone who’s not interested in that much detail, here are my favourite picks: Up in Flames, Us Against the World, both stripped down, simple and beautiful; and Princess of China and Every Teardrop is a Waterfall for their beat, energy and edginess.
Track 1: Mylo Xyloto (interlude)
Track 2: Hurts Like Heaven
Hurts like Heaven sounds to me like Coldplay’s version of an Eighties Pop song. It’s bouncy, dancey, and has an electric guitar riff in the middle that doesn’t really belong there! And oh, the lyrics make little sense. That being said, I actually like it – a lot. It’s full of energy, moonbeams and smiley faces – and everyone needs a happy little song every so often, don’t you think?
Track 3: Paradise
Paradise is likely to do very well on the charts. It’s got that “gets stuck in your head” quality all chart toppers imbibe, it’s the kind of song you can sing along to, and has a pleasant feel to it. I’m not blown away by it – I mean yes, I like it, but would I call it one of the great Coldplay tracks? I don’t think so.
Track 4: Charlie Brown
Now this song, I do like. It’s got an odd chanting thing going on at the back (that sounds a bit like chipmunks trying to be Buddhist Monks, if you ask me) before it breaks into a louder instrumentation. But it stood out for me because of the largeness of this song. The swoosh as the chorus comes up (which is more a set of notes rather than
Track 5: Us Against the World
Easily one of the best songs of the album, the beauty of ‘Up Against the World’ is its simplicity. To me, it’s a song about a relationship, one that may or may not be working. ‘Through chaos as it swirls, it’s us against the world’ – there’s an example of the stripped down, simple lyrics, accompanied by nothing much except Martin’s voice and quiet instrumentation. Instant Coldplay classic, for me.
Track 6: MMIX
Musical interlude into The track of the album, Every Tears a Waterfall.
Track 7: Every Tear’s a Waterfall
Sure, it’s been overplayed on the radio. Sure, it’s more dancey than the purist fans would have liked. Sure, it could be very mainstream. But for me, this song is rainbows and sunshine, and I unabashedly love it. It reminds me that the world is a beautiful place, and it puts a smile on my face. What’s it about? Who knows, and who cares? The hero for me is the percussion in this song, that bounces out of your headphones and gets you moving. Bravo Coldplay, for attempting something different and succeeding beautifully!
Track 8: Major Minus
If the intent of putting Major Minus straight after Every Teardrop was to bring the mood down, it succeeds. No, it’s not a boring song – in fact, quite the opposite. It’s Coldplay doing hiphop, in a nutshell. It’s dark, combative and aggressive. Not particularly my cup of tea, but I’ll give them credit for experimentation. I just don’t think it worked as well on this track.
Track 9: UFO
UFO is acoustic and minimalist song, and uncharacteristically short (just over two minutes). It’s pleasant to listen to, but on some level I just don’t get it. Maybe we’re not meant to.
Track 10: Princess of China
If I had to pick what I considered to be the cleverest song of the album, Princess of China would win hands down. Again, hip hop influence is evident here in the beat, but it works better than Major Minus. And then Rihanna comes in, and twists the song in a whole new way, to me. I was never a fan of hers, but I LOVE her in this song. She’s soulful, edgy and emotional all at once. Martin and her harmonize superbly, and the result is a fantastical and sad love story that ended. Fantastic track.
Track 11: Up in Flames
What an exquisite song. What simplicity, in percussion, instrumentation, lyric and voice. What pain. This will go down as Coldplay’s all-time classics, for me.
Track 12: A Hopeful Transmission (interlude)
Track 13: Don’t’ Let it Break Your Heart
This sounds more like the Coldplay of old. To me, this could have easily been an extra track left off X&Y. Pleasant, but nothing to write home about, for me.
Track 14: Up with the Birds
Wasn’t this a weird track. I didn’t understand it, and I’m not sure I really wanted to.
