Coldplay "Mylo Xyloto" 2011***

I've quite liked Coldplay ever since I heard their debut album "Parachute" around the turn of the century. Miserable as they sounded though, I never imagined they'd be destined for stardom. They were just another Brit band following on the footsteps of Oasis and Radiohead. They were included in countless compilations called "alternative" or "acoustic" together with the likes of Starsailor, Doves, Stereophonics, Travis, Idlewild, etc. I know because I have a bunch of those compilations and a bunch of those groups' CD's, too. Point is, the music industry needs stars. So what happens when Oasis slip into decadent repetition and Radiohead turn their back to mainstream? Other bands step through. Of the Radiohead soundalikes, Muse had the bombast and Coldplay the soft melodies that allowed them to sell the CD's and fill the stadiums. And I have to say Coldplay tried hard to hang on to their alternative credentials while indulging their pop instincts, enlisting for this reason heavyweight producer Brian Eno who had previously pulled the same trick for U2. He put his stamp on their previous album "Viva La Vida" but on "Mylo Xyloto" he's only there to offer an art rock wrapping for Coldplay's amiable pop. Yep, Chris Martin doesn't sound so miserable anymore. And why should he? After selling out stadiums, topping the charts on both sides of the Atlantic, and a happy marriage with the beautiful and sophisticated Gwyneth Paltrow? If I was him, I'd be euphoric. And, right enough, that's how he sounds in the album's hit "Paradise" with its infectious oh-ooh-oooh football chant and para-para-paradise chorus. Then he must have thought "as long as I dabble in R&B why not go all the way and get Rhianna to duet with me?". Which is what he did in "Princess Of China", mixing commercial pop, rock and electronica in a mush. A tasty mush perhaps, but an artificial one you regret eating after a few seconds, promising yourself you'll only eat healthy food from now on. But this is what pop is, which is why I only listen it in small doses. Rock I can listen to all day long, no problem! To preserve their status as a serious and intellectual art rock group, Coldplay presented Mylo Xyloto as a concept album: There's a SF back story connecting all the songs, something about a bleak dystopia under a totalitarian regime - but don't worry: In the end love saves the day! The album yielded 7 singles, it was that full of prospective hits! "Hurts Like Heaven" which opens the album (track "Mylo Xyloto" is an instrumental intro) has a fast rhythm and an urgency to it: imagine Manic Street Preachers covering Bruce Springsteen. It's followed by "Paradise" and "Charlie Brown", another energetic anthem reminiscent of U2 and The Arcade Fire as well as Coldplay's own "Clocks". "Us Against The World" is an acoustic folk ballad, a refreshing intermission from all the falsettos and big choruses. After an instrumental bridge ("M.M.I.X.") it's on again with the stadium rock songs: "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" (U2-ish) and "Major Minus" (Muse/Radiohead-ish). "U.F.O." is an acoustic ballad with strings and "Up In Flames" another ballad with piano, electronic drums and a Prince-imitating falsetto. Not that great, but a welcome change of pace before another Coldpay-by-numbers song, "Don't Let It Break Your Heart". The CD closes with "Up With The Birds", one of those "cathartic" ballads that directors use for their closing credits. How did Radiohead put it? "Exit Music For A Film"? That's the spirit!

***** for Paradise

**** for Charlie Brown

*** for Hurts Like Heaven, Us Against The World, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, Major Minus, U.F.O., Princess Of China, Up In Flames, Up With The Birds

** for Mylo Xyloto, M.M.I.X, A Hopeful Transmission, Don't Let It Break Your Heart