Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto CD Album Review

By Rhys Milsom / October 20, 2011

rating: 4

It seems like an age since Coldplay last released an album. It€™s actually only been three years since Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends was released, but three years without a fix has been a wait that€™s seemed much longer for Coldplay addicts. However, they should be used to waiting this long €“ every album that Coldplay has released has been two or three years since its predecessor. It€™s hard to believe that Mylo Xyloto is the band€™s fifth studio album. It seems as if they€™ve released much more, but this is mainly due to the undying popularity of songs such as Yellow, The Scientist, Speed of Sound and Viva La Vida, to name just a few. Their first album, Parachutes, was released in 2000 and I don€™t think I€™m wrong in saying that it seems they€™ve been around for much, much longer. Again, this is more than likely due to certain songs still feeling as fresh as the day they were recorded and being so popular that they€™ve lasted through the years. However, another reason it seems they€™ve been around for much longer than 11 years is that since their inception in 1996, they€™ve been making such an impressive mark on listeners, critics and on record sales worldwide. 11 years is a very long time for a band to still be together nowadays, and for a band like Coldplay, who create music on such a well-received, engaging scale, this makes it all the more impressive. Every album is nurtured and maximised to its full potential, and the love that the band put into crafting the music emanates through to the listener. The band has sold over 50 million records worldwide and has won various awards. These include 6 Brit Awards, including winning Best British Group three times, and 7 Grammy Awards. Their debut album, Parachutes, was nominated for the Mercury Prize; their second, A Rush Of Blood To The Head, won NME€™s album of the year; the third, X & Y, was the best-selling album worldwide in 2005; and the fourth, Viva La Vida€, earned several nominations and wins at the 51st Grammy Awards. The band is also known for its support of a number of political and social causes: Oxfam€™s Make Trade Fair campaign and Amnesty International are two examples. The band has also performed at events such as Live 8, Band Aid 20 and the Teenage Cancer Trust. Chris Martin is seen as an advocate for Fair Trade and has been on trips with Oxfam, has appeared in its advertisements and is also know for wearing a Make Trade Fair wristband on his public appearances, including at concerts. So, as you can see, Coldplay aren€™t a band who are just interested getting their music across to people. They use their celebrity status to further the knowledge of poverty, poor economic climates and of countries in need. Coldplay is an important band of this generation, and love them or hate them, you cannot say that they haven€™t made a mark on popular culture and, indeed, on people€™s opinions and knowledge about social and economic problems worldwide. The band has stated that Mylo Xyloto is going in an industrial rock direction €“ very different to past Coldplay releases. Martin has also said that the main themes are of €˜love, addiction, OCD, escape and working for someone you don€™t like.€™ So, on the basis of these statements, the album is set up for a very intriguing and diverse listen. It could also be absorbing and rewarding for the listener. If the band play it right, they€™ll have an album of magnificent magnitude €“ one that is sure to earn them some more awards to add to the collection. Hurts Like Heaven has a delicate guitar that is full of melody and rhythm and a drumbeat that€™s hard not to nod along to. Martin€™s vocals glide over the track and in the haunting resonance he leaves behind, you may find the silence that bridges between the next track a little bit evocative. It is a song that in true Coldplay style, lingers in your head and you€™ll find yourself humming or singing along to it long after it€™s finished.Angsty titled Us Against The World has a sombre, almost anguished opening. The slow, sweet guitar, accompanied by Martin€™s gloomy vocals, make for a listen that is distressing but stirring at the same time. The lyrics, especially, highlight this point: €˜And tonight / I know it all has to begin again / So whatever you do / Don€™t let go€™. It€™s a track that will, in particular, appeal to the legions of fans who love Coldplay for their poignant, meaningful music but it€™s also a song that may be the soundtrack to a day when nothing is going right. Up In Flames is a track that has romantic connotations and a feel of unparalleled emotion that can only be obtained when a song is written about something true to life. Martin€™s repeated chorus of €˜Up in flames€™ hammers at the heartstrings and embeds itself in your mind. It€™s a simple track, but elegant in its own way. It is a song that grows on you, and that€™s what makes it so strong.Up With The Birds, the final track, utilises the most of Martin€™s poignant vocal style and the keys that filter in are a striking addition. They are what the song relies on to fulfil its potential until the folk-esque acoustic guitar comes to the fore. The guitar and the keys, together, grab the listener until the end and Martin€™s vocals hover effortlessly over the music. It isn€™t the strongest track on offer, but it is a stable ending and in its almost burgeoning stillness, it entices the listener to start listening to the album again. An intelligent ending. Though the industrial rock theme may not have been fully realised, this is an album with Coldplay stamped all over it and, once again, shows why they are one of today€™s most enduring and popular bands. It€™ll be an album that we€™ll hear plenty about upon its release. Coldplay's fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto is released on October 24th.