The United Kingdom has never been wanting for musical talent and perhaps the most well-known and successful band to come out of Britain in the past decade is Coldplay. It's only a matter of time before their latest album, "Mylo Xyloto," which hit iTunes on Monday, begins to take over the airwaves. The album's single, "Every Tear Drop is a Waterfall" has already been played on a number of radio stations since its June 3 release.
Back in 2009, Coldplay's front man Chris Martin said that their next album would be more of a return to their traditional style after their 2008 "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" which surprised Coldplay fans with its experimental sounds that strayed from the band's trademark style. By and large, "Mylo Xyloto" lived up to Martin's promise of a return to more traditional Coldplay music. However, the album is still distinct in a number of ways and some of the tracks are like nothing listeners have ever heard from the band before. Arguably one of the best tracks off the new album, "Hurts Like Heaven," is more fast-paced and up-beat than anything heard from Coldplay before.
Akiti Kohli, junior said the song was hypnotizing after listening to it for the first time.
"Paradise" is also very different from the types of songs Coldplay has put out in the past, and at times it even sounds a bit like Rihanna's "Umbrella." Given the appearance of Rihanna on the track "Princess of China," it's debatable whether or not that was entirely coincidental.
Compared to "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," "Mylo Xyloto" might not be as exciting. Fans that really enjoyed the band's 2008 release might be disappointed in the latest album.
Tom Schram, sophomore a newscaster at WSOU, said, "I was expecting this album to be a continuation of the new sounds Coldplay was experimenting with on their previous album ‘Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends'. From what I've heard from it so far, I think it is more of a step backwards than forwards."
However, many fans will enjoy this return to some of Coldplay's more traditional musical themes. Over all, "Mylo Xyloto" is a strong album, the kind you can listen to on repeat a number of times over.
Emily Lake can be reached at emily.lake@student.shu.edu
