 A more vibrant and colorful phase to dominate stadiums. COLDPLAY - MYLO XYLOTO (2011) After the Viva la Vida era set a new path for Coldplay, making them aware they could dominate stadiums, the band took a new direction: this time, more joyful, colorful, and tailored for spectacle, while occasionally nodding to their more reserved origins. The album's name is difficult to pronounce, but Mylo Xyloto (released on October 19, 2011) tries, conceptually, to tell a story with a happy ending.
The calling card of this new journey is the album's title track, entirely instrumental, serving as a cheerful prologue before the curtains open, preparing for the arrival of "Hurts Like Heaven," a song inspired by the old American graffiti school, with an overly cheerful tone, bordering on caricature, where its greatest triumph is setting the stage (or the painted walls) for the arrival of "Paradise," the album's first big surprise with its characteristic introduction of piano and violin, while the instrumentation waits for the cue to enter. "Uh, uh, uh…" Chris repeats between verses, as the story's protagonist dreams of paradise in a chorus that never tires of emphasizing its "Para-Para-Paradise…" as many times as possible to meet real-world expectations. The melody is striking, and the song excites, leaving the chorus in the mind for several days, like an instant hit. "Charlie Brown" follows, again with a caricatured tone, but this time better polished than in "Hurts Like Heaven," becoming a lively and real ballad, even if the traveler remains in their abstract reality until the farewell: "So we’ll soar… luminous and wired, we’ll be glowing in the dark…" Martin sings, with a serene voice, before giving way to a sweet piano, in a melody that takes the listener back to the times of "Life is for Living," which previously appeared as a hidden track but now reborn in another world as a source of liberation. In "Us Against the World," a customary deviation from the norm: gentle guitar plucks foreshadow Martin's pure voice, seemingly reciting verses to himself, while keeping his guitar always close, until he's joined by Will's soft voice in the background. The acoustic atmosphere and slow rhythm then give Chris the chance to raise his voice until the return of the guitar plucking receives the impact of firm piano chords. But Martin insists on saying: "It's us against the world…," contradicting the real situation of a band now embracing pop, a genre so adored worldwide… the same world they are fancifully resisting. There is no resistance from the outside, but from within, making "Us Against the World" an internal battle, Coldplay against Coldplay, perhaps out of a need to break free from the past.
"M.M.I.X." follows, serving as a transition between the detour and the arrival of the new: "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall," another great surprise, with imminent impact due to its voluminous and lively instrumentation, probably the best song on the album and the greatest definition of the group's current phase. Its lilac tone guides the listener on an inspiring path to its end, where Will's drums prepare the conclusion without interference, just the opportunity to enjoy the moment of glory. And then "Major Minus" appears as a surprise element with its scratchy and exotic guitar to decipher the world's enigmas while warning: "They got one eye watching you… so be careful…," referring to the eyes of those who control and manipulate. The song grows and gains greater contours as the guitar solo comes into play in an unlikely and risky but courageous fight. With "U.F.O.," a moment of peace and reflection, with a pleasant melody, without the contradiction of "Us Against the World" and with its own charm, besides the awareness: "Still got a long way to go…," transposing the scene to another caricatured story, this time with a special appearance by Rihanna: "Princess of China," with an unattractive introduction until Martin cites the first verses. But it's only when Rihanna abandons the "Oh, oh, oh" and cites her own verses that the song gains strength and shine. Further ahead, the chorus returns to disillusion, until both sing together: "Because you really hurt me… oh, oh you really hurt me…," they state. Chris Martin then enters an intimate process with his piano and recites "Up in Flames" accompanied only by an automatic drum (with the feel of an unfinished song), repeating: "Up in flames, up in flames…," accepting that the story is over once and for all, until a delicate advance of bass and guitar value the moment closed by the same lifeless drum. "A Hopeful Transmission" is another interlude in the album (another one!) and prepares the glamorous entry of "Don't Let It Break Your Heart," with its exponential strength exuding cries of pure vigor, like in a battle of angels for the path of good, consecrating it as the album's poetic source. It is enough for "Up with the Birds" to emerge as the final poetry, divided into two parts: in the first, the melancholic and visceral account, watered with a beautiful melody: "It's hard to leave it all behind," he says, while the birds sing; in the second, the fibrous and confident account, with the band's resurgence: "But one thing I know… good things are coming our way…," ending the journey, observing infinite possibilities in life. ★★★★ (out of 5 stars) Coldplay Reviews: Parachutes (2000), A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002), X&Y (2005), Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), Mylo Xyloto (2011), Ghost Stories (2014), A Head Full of Dreams (2015), Kaleidoscope EP (2017), Everyday Life (2019), Music of the Spheres (2021), and Moon Music (2024). |
