NEW RELEASE: Coldplay - Music of Spheres

 Let me begin this by saying, I have actually been quite a big fan of Coldplay.

Up until after Mylo Xyloto. Ever since this solid album, which shifted them in a more pop scale direction, Chris Martin has sounded lost as to what he intends Coldplay to really be. Between two uninspired pop releases with some okay catchy singles, to trying to return to the conceptual Viva La Vida and failing miserably with whatever "Everyday Life" was, I do not walk into "Music of Spheres" with high expectations in the songwriting department. I miss the Coldplay that wrote Clocks, The Hardest Part, even Twisted Logic. I realize Martin seems to think X&Y was their worst piece, but I strongly disagree with him. 

And following in typical trends, this album we get...literal emojis as song titles. REALLY? So we start with an intro of 53 second which is titled by some planet emoji. ARE YOU TRYING TO MAKE ME HATE THIS BEFORE WE EVEN GET STARTED? The intro is quite ethereal though. I will give it that.

I have been hoping perhaps this album would sound better together, but I still can't find myself indulged in "Higher Power". Chris Martin sounds like he chose a beat he isn't capable of following properly, in the vein of every time you heard Taylor Swift sing Shake It Off live, you could hear the struggle.

We then shift to "Human Kind", and let me tell you, I am the one person to notice the most annoying of vocal layer and dubs there are. The effects on his vocal in the verse just ruins it before it got flying. It is like he tried to recreate the one hit from "Everyday Life". I hated the singing style of it too.

AND HERE IS ANOTHER INTERLUDE, defined by some star emoji. I swear to god this better not become a frequent trend. Be original. Give something a real damn title. Are we that degenerate now?

I admit I was kind of excited to hear Selena Gomez and Coldplay together. I have liked both artists, and it seems it made them scale back some on this song. Together it is the first song I genuinely enjoyed from the album, but I have always strongly preferred the slower and scaled back Coldplay.

Defined by a little "heart" icon, this song includes Jacob Collier and We are King (an RNB duo for those of you like me who had no idea who it is). Are they just collaborating with everyone now? The echo chamber on this one is quite big. It isn't terrible, but I feel like it could've been stronger.

Okay with an introduction like "People of the Pride", at least they got me INTERESTED. I want to hear that passion and power in a song. But I am not sure I was prepared for Coldplay to ever sound this...rock. Honestly, this might be the first Coldplay song I have heard in a long time where I felt like Martin actually felt something. If only the whole album could be as empowered as this song. 

I...how did this shift happen. "Biutyful" is absolutely awful. They used an editor on his voice where it sounds like the chipmunks are singing how much they love me. God help me.

And we have ANOTHER interlude, defined by an...earth emoji. 

I haven't liked new Coldplay, and I really do not like BTS either, but for some reason "My Universe" is just a good catchy pop song. I won't deny the earworm quality just sucked me right in. 

The next track is mostly instrumental, defined by an infinity symbol. The keyboard on it is dreadfully annoying, sounds like someone trying to make bad video game music.

The album closes with a 10 minute track title "Coloratura", which honestly feels like all the experimenting they were trying to do with the interludes turned into a song, and it is actually a lovely song. I love the structure of it. Instrumentally it just draws you in. 

Lyrics: 4/10 - Most of the songs do not lyrically stand out at all. 

Music: 6/10 - The music is not terrible. I think the experimentation in sound did intrigue me at times. Other times, it entirely turned me off.

Overall: 5/10. There's much more on this that is, in the very least, memorable. Everyday Life was one of the dullest and most boring Coldplay albums I had ever listened to. I was very saddened by the release considering my pure excitement for the return to an older sound. Nevertheless, I feel Music of Spheres pushes Coldplay in a new direction. It is not entirely like the old or the new. Perhaps finding their way back to what it means to really make music and feel inspired. He has not gotten all the way there yet, but this album gives me hope in Coldplay's future potential. I want to hear where songs like "People of the Pride" and "Coloratura" take them. Because I know this band is so capable of making some of the best music.