"Music of the Spheres" is the 9th studio album by UK rock/pop outfit Coldplay. They have been going since the late 90s and propelled themselves pretty much from the off into an arena sized band and it wasn't long till they were filling stadiums and headlining major festivals. "Music of the Sphere" is the follow up to 2019 "Everyday life" which was arguably their most ambitious album to date. It's a double album which I have mixed views on. On one hand I do think it's Coldplay's weakest album in their discography. But on the other it features my favourite song Coldplay have ever done in the form of "Arabesque".
I always had a theory since "Everyday life" came out as to what their next album would be like. This stretches back to "Mylo Xylto" which came out in 2011. This was a pop rock record which was born for mainstream success. Then in 2014, they released "Ghost Stories", sure it had the anthemic, sing along of "A sky full of stars" but in general it was almost like a chillout album and was a bold and experimental move for the band. Then in 2015 you have "A Head full of Dreams" which sees them return to the all-out pop rock record. Then in 2019 you have "Everyday life" which was more experimental record. See a pattern emerging? - Pop/rock record, more creative record, pop rock record, more creative record. So, on paper I expected "Music of the Spheres" to be a pop rock record.
Well, is it? Well, when the first single came out, "Higher Power", which is an all-out singalong anthem. Then yes its going as planned. This has got monster hit written all over it. But then they threw a curve ball and released "Colourtura". They made the point that this wasn't a single. And the reason for that is that it's 10 miniutes long! So radio wouldn't play it but this did intrigue me as to what the record would sound like as having a 10 minute track on it really does scream, this is not your conventional pop rock record. Then they released "My Universe" featuring BTS who are a Korean boy band. Now this is another banger. The lyrics do feel a bit cheesy "You, you are my universe, I just want to put you first", but once you get past that it is actually a very good song. And having BTS on the track is a masterful move, engaging with the Asian music market. It works for Coldplay and it works for BTS. And having them both singing in Korean in some of the versus also shows how they are embracing Korean culture too as well as doing something which is out with the norm of UK rock music.
So, what about the rest of the record. It's clear Martin and Co have put a lot of thought into this album. It is a spaced themed concept album where it is set in a fictional planetary system inspired by Star Wars. It's 12 tracks with 5 tracks not having proper names but are emoji's instead. Which I see as a creative and very imagnative move by the band. I certainly can't recall anyone else doing this. I would be interested to see if at concerts they announce tracks as "Now this one is the planet emoji" etc. I would find that quite amusing. Though it does make sense that most of these are emoji tracks are instrumentals. Three of the emoji tracks, including the intro are just 20-50 seconds long and act as nice bridges between tracks. The heart emoji track is the opposite, instead of being an instrumental. It's purely vocals with no instruments and has some lush harmonies between Martin, We are King and Jacob Colier.
I think that's thing about the album, if you are looking for the standard hit from Coldplay all the way through, you aren't going to get it here. There is something different around every corner of this album and I think for me is really the appeal of it. For example, after heart emoji track you have "People of the pride". This is like Coldplay do angst for a fair bit of it and has this bass line which runs through some of it in the way Royal Blood would rock out. For me it's an infectious song and feels a bit different from them.
"Byuitful" is probably my least favourite track on the album. The backing track is nice and as always Martin's vocals are spot on. But it features this processed sounding female voice which does my head in. But I would say this is the only track on the album I would skip. Coming back to the final track on the album "Colourtura" I was slightly annoyed they released it before the album came out in hindsight because it is the album closer. I think you listen to a song completely differently when listening to it as a final track on an album than a track by itself. But don't get me wrong it is a great track and ambitious for a band like Coldplay to do this. I have heard big bands try doing longer tracks and trust me they don't always work. But Coldplay have something special here. I like that it's a piano based track and I think the only one on the album. I like the way it climaxes and is like a theatrical ending before having a nice fade out.
Other tracks "Humankind" is a track I would be surprised if it doesn't come out as a single. "Let somebody go" is quite a moving slow track featuring Selena Gomez. They seem to be good at getting the A listers out with Rhianna, Beyonce and Jay Z featuring in Coldplay tracks in the past. Now they have both Selena Gomez and BTS on this album as well as some others. I must mention the infinity emoji track too. It's a bit longer than the other instrumental emoji tracks and is one of my favourite tracks on the album. The drumming is superb on this track as it creates a fantastically fast rhythm. And you can hear the chant of "Ole, ole, ole ole ole" running through it making it born for the stadium tour they are going to be embarking on next year.
Overall, I think this record which will divide people. I can see a camp of people complaining that there are not enough "mainstream" songs on here, too many instrumentals, not enough substance. Then the other camp of people who appreciate the balance of the album between mainstream and experimentation. Personally, I am in the latter camp. I think this is an absolutely amazing album. It's like a proper adventure, “Higher Power" and "My Universe" reach the peaks of the likes of "Yellow" and "Viva la Vida". "Colourtura” finishes off the album as good as they finished off "Parachutes", "A rush of blood to the head" and "A head full of dreams". And just the general creativity and imagination they have put into this album, mixed with the artists they have brought along for the ride, shows a band who are still totally relevant and deserve their place as one of the biggest bands on the planet. And long may it continue.
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