CD of The Week

Coldplay is back with their fifth record. Though the band had success with their previous record Viva La Vida…, they spent a lot of time defending themselves from accusations of plagiarism, which certainly can be exhausting. Wanting to go in to the studio with “clean slate”, they came out with Mylo Xyloto, a title that doesn’t mean anything, according to the band’s frontman Chris Martin. Brian Eno, who they worked with on Viva, is back. He serves as both co-writer and instrumentalist on most of the songs.

The record starts off with a small intro track, followed immediately by “Hurts Like Heaven”, which gets the record off to a high paced, extremely poppy start. The natural reaction is, though it’s a fun song, it looks Coldplay is out to sell records, which could be a worry. Coldplay certainly has lost much of their “indie street cred” in recent years, and this opening track does not help. That being said, do not judge the record by the first track. True, “Paradise”, the next track, is also a nice, safe pop song, but the band dives a little deeper the more one listens. “Charlie Brown” really brings back memories of the sounds of Viva, with its nice paced acoustic guitars behind Martin’s lovely (as always) voice, but it’s the slow tracks on Mylo that kind of throw me for a loop.

The record has a nice pace, but then hits the breaks with “Us Against the World”, then speeds back up, then slows back down, taking the listener on an up and down adventure. On one of the albums highlights, “Princess in China”, pop star Rihanna makes a guest vocal appearance. This seems fitting actually, with the song’s heavy beat and emotional lyrics.

Coldplay’s Mylo Xyloto is a nice addition to their catalog, no doubt. As a listener and fan, I understand what they’re doing, it’s just that the record falls flat in certain places. They’re somewhere between a true pop band, and their old selves. It’d just be nice if they picked a side and went with it. Either way, they can’t lose as long as they still have Martin’s wonderful vocals on their side.