Coldplay has built up their legacy as band to the point where their albums are always amongst the most anticipated during the year of their release. Recent LPs like X & Y and Viva la Vida and Death to all His Friends topped charts around the world, and their most recent – Mylo Xyloto – is doing the same. They chose colorful blends of graffiti as the cover art and a reoccurring image of the album, which is not something typically associated with the band. However, they felt that this form of urban rebellion fit well with the message they were trying to deliver through their music.
The inspiration for Mylo Xyloto stemmed from the recent global economic woes; it’s about a pair of lovers (named Mylo and Xyloto) that rebel to achieve a strongly desired freedom from authority. Coincidentally, this is one of the more prominent issues in today’s society. The rise of the “Occupy” movement across the nation has brought about many questions concerning the quality of leadership in this country. Lyrics like “through chaos as it swirls, it’s us against the world” give some perspective from the view of the two fictional characters, but could just as easily be a tagline for the Occupiers. Lead singer Chris Martin calls this latest work a concept album, a third person story told through their music with an important message they felt they had to get across.
The first released single, “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”, came out earlier this year in June and was the best choice for purposes of demonstrating what their new music is all about. Upbeat and rather catchy, it has that traditional melancholy Coldplay feel, but with a little mainstream twist. Instead of a soft piano or acoustic part, it puts more focus on its fast electric guitar riff and echoing synthesizers. Although it is not typical of the band, it still makes for quality music. They have certainly experimented with and diversified their sound in this new album, and have achieved a good amount of success in doing so. It’s the same old Coldplay; they’re just keeping up with the popular styles and techniques that dominate the music industry today.
Three months later, their second single “Paradise” was released. Yet another taste of the new sound to the album, a lot more time and effort was put into the production end of this song than usual. It may have been written with instruments, but it was perfected on a computer. The electronic effects added make for a much more powerful track. There are several other songs with computerized enhancements, including “Princess of China” featuring Rihanna.
There was a point when Chris Martin “[didn’t] think that bands should keep going past 33”. Well, he’s 33 now, and Coldplay is still in existence. The band’s most useful attribute is their ability to adapt to the times, as they are always growing and changing in order to keep from falling stagnant. If you’re looking for an example of a mainstream band, Coldplay would absolutely fall into this category. But it’s not that they’re selling out, they are just good at maintaining relevance by mixing what’s popular, with what’s unique to them.
