The "Enoxification" of Coldplay

Album: Mylo Xyloto
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone
Release date: 24 October, 2011
Peak chart position/sales: (UK) #1, Platinum (AUS) #1, Platinum (US) #1 (CAN) #1 (FRA) #1 (GER) #1 (IRE) #1 (ITA) #1 (NL) #1 (NZ) #1 (SWE) #1

RATING: 3.5/5

Call me a skeptic, but as soon as a well-established band promises a "stripped back" album that goes back to "roots" and will showcase the band's "raw" sound, I start to worry. When they decide to do said "stripped back" album in collaboration with Brian Eno, the fear becomes rational. Especially when they create a new verb to describe his role in the production process (see review title). *coughpretentiouscough* It can't be good marketing to use an album name that took this reviewer two months to learn to spell - let alone pronounce - but luckily Coldplay's fifth studio album, the tediously-titled Mylo Xyloto manages to escape the realm of the underwhelming by presenting an impressive number of stadium-fillers that will comfortably achieve "classic" status very shortly.

Following in the footsteps of Viva La Vida,  Mylo Xyloto was touted as a "semi" concept album - but do 33-48sec tracks "Mylo Xyloto", "M.M.I.X" and "A Hopeful Transmission" really warrant their own track numbers? Just quietly, using the nature of digital technology to separate the intro from its song does not really constitute "concept album". As I listened, I was surprised to find that on an album that reviewers are praising for its flow (if not an overarching concept) I found serious fault with the track listing.

The first half of the album positively explodes with building momentum, as the hook-driven likes of "Charlie Brown" and catchy vocals of "Hurts Like Heaven" and "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall" take flight in a blur of virtuosic guitar leads and pumping electronica. "Paradise" is an absolute stunner of a track, with soaring strings, acoustic piano accents and a beautiful vocal delivery from Chris Martin - but my full appreciation of it was delayed somewhat by the ridiculous music video. Caught between laughing hysterically and wanting to beat Chris Martin over the head with a very large stick, I have only just managed to appreciate the song itself, without visualising awful elephant suits...watch it if you must, but be warned: you WILL be scarred for life.

After my previous gripe with Eno, I can't help but smile at the U2 parallel apparent in the dangerously gutsy "Major Minus" that could almost have slipped onto No Line On The Horizon unnoticed. It's not all electric guitar and "Oooh"s though - "Us Against The World" shines in all its acoustic beauty, reminiscent of a younger Coldplay sound. The album loses momentum however, with the pop mundanity of "Princess of China" - the only track I felt compelled to skip by the halfway mark - and "Up In Flames". The beautiful combination of "A Hopeful Transmission" and "Don't Let It Break Your Heart" lifts the mood where it's needed with ringing guitar, driving cymbals and crisp piano chords, but "Up With The Birds" is a disappointingly unremarkable close to an adrenalin-rush of an album that deserved to end with a bang.

It's a case of quality, not quantity, on Mylo Xyloto - it's not the sort of album you can love from beginning to end, but the strength of the songs they got so right holds the compilation together with a musical superglue that makes the album worth it overall. This was never the stripped back, artsy concept album we were waiting for...but you know what? That's okay. Chill out Coldplay - you don't need to make big promises to keep us coming back for more.


Is it worth my $$$? - Coldplay fans will want this in their collection. And rightly so. Newcomers, if you really want the "raw" Coldplay, head back to Parachutes.


Listen to: Mylo Xyloto/Hurts Like Heaven, Paradise, Charlie Brown