Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto – more of the same

The problem with debuting with an impossibly good alternative album like Parachutes is that everyone compares your following releases to it, and then ultimately calls you a sell out.

To be fair, the real problem for Coldplay, if you could call it that, was that they followed up Parachutes with another impossibly good album, Rush of Blood to the Head. It was the album that signalled their intent to head into a style of alternative that carried undertones of pop and dance. But when they made the complete move with X&Y, it was met with an equal amount of hate as it was praise. That didn’t stop Coldplay from being uber succesful, but haters will be haters and haters hate the idea of selling out to the majority.

So if you disliked X&Y and Viva la Vida, don’t bother with Mylo Xyloto. The album jumps straight back into the beats of past albums, proudly loud with the long instrumentals that would sit well on a dance floor, propped up by the rough but toned vocals of Chris Martin. But you knew that, because the first singles to escape Mylo Xyloto – ‘Every Teardrop is a Waterfall’ and ‘Paradise’ – were the perfect advertisement for what Mylo Xyloto was going to be. It’s all backed up by the track ‘Princess of China’, which somewhat ironically features the princess of R&B, Rihanna, who’s certainly not Chinese, but we digress.

Mylo Xyloto is a good album. Full stop, period, say whatever you want. Martin and the band take care with their lyrics and composition in a way that almost forces you to respect the resulting concoction. Each song flows well into the next, suggesting a solid appreciation for track placement in an LP. But if you want the Coldplay of old, we suggest you turn to Georgia Fair or something similar.

Price: $17.99 on iTunes

Web: Coldplay