Let's face it, the world needs a much-needed dose of positivity right now. It just all depends on whether or not you want it on such an industrial scale that it may elicit a sugar coma.
Coldplay's betting the world can withstand their relentless approach to please with Moon Music. And it is spectacular as it is mawkish – there is a song called Good Feelings and one whose title is just a rainbow emoji.
But one thing is for sure, these tracks will go down an absolute treat amid the technicolour extravaganza that is their Music of the Spheres World Tour, which touches down in Abu Dhabi in January with a record run of four shows at Zayed Sports City Stadium.
Until then, what we have is the coming soundtrack to that communal ecstasy. Here is a breakdown of each track of Moon Music, the band's 10th studio album that comes out Friday.
1. Moon Music
Since their 2000 debut Parachutes, Coldplay have always been fond of beginning most albums with atmospheric passages and instrumental numbers to set the tone of the project. The opening title track here is no different with 90 seconds of spacey synths provided by frequent Coldplay collaborator John Hopkins, the British musician and producer who provided his electronic flourishes to albums such as Viva la Vida, Death and All His Friends and Mylo Xyloto.
Once the electronic fog lifts, a plaintive piano line segues through with singer Chris Martin cooing the album’s central theme of finding redemption within the beauty of the cosmos: “I am trying to trust a world full of love, fire and water, and constantly dream of the balance of things.”
2. Feels Like I'm Falling in Love
A feature of Moon Music and its predecessor Music of the Spheres is main producer Max Martin. Credited as the band's "fifth member" for the recordings, the pop titan – responsible for three decades of hits ranging from the Backstreet Boys to Taylor Swift – has been influential in Coldplay’s surge to pop superstardom.
Martin’s wizardry comes from finding that sweet spot of stadium-hugging hooks and maintaining an artist's core sound. This is apparent in Moon Music’s lead single, whose woozy electronic beats complement a shimmering acoustic guitar, recalling Yellow, one of Coldplay's biggest hits.
The ecstatic chorus where Martin declares: “It feels like I’m falling in love, maybe for the first time,” is the kind of lyrical scheme Coldplay do best in taking tripe-sounding couplets and making them sound so irrepressibly earnest that you can’t help but feel beguiled.
Ushered into the Music of the Spheres tour over the last month, expect it to feature even more prominently now that Moon Music is out.
3. We Pray
It is no surprise Coldplay began actively collaborating with featured artists after 2011's Mylo Xyloto, the album that had the band dialling down the rock approach for a more electronic and pop-friendly approach.
More often than not, from Princess of China with Rihanna to Hymn for the Weekend with Beyonce, it worked. We Pray just about holds together to make it relatively successful. Laced with a quavering bass line, it has an international guest star line-up including Palestine-Chilean singer Elyanna, English rapper Little Simz, Nigerian singer Burna Boy and Argentinian singer Tini, who all trade verses on the universal power of music complete with a flurry of “la-la-lahs". While it sounds euphoric in stadiums, that relentless positivity begins to grate in Moon Music.
4. Jupiter
One of the more organic-sounding tracks on Moon Music, standout track Jupiter is another life-affirming anthem floating on the kind of acoustic guitar arrangement we haven’t heard from Coldplay in years. It all builds up into a lovely chorale finale featuring guest vocalists including Grammy-winning RnB singer Her and Congolese artist Lous and the Yakuza.
5. Good Feelings
Since 2008’s Viva La Vida, Coldplay have been trying to perfect the feelgood anthem and this could be their best yet. Good Feelings could have been a summer anthem had it been released as a single. Either way, it’s the kind of synth-funk tune Maroon 5 would have killed for. The warbling and sped-up vocal effects in the background don’t overshadow Martin's chirpy vocals as he reflects on a summer romance with all the “good feelings” it entails.
6. Alien Hits / Alien Radio
With Martin declaring Coldplay will call it quits after two more albums, maybe one of them would be a fully-fledged ambient album. Titled as a rainbow emoji on streaming platforms, while called Alien Hits / Alien Radio, on the liner notes, it’s a spacey and largely instrumental tune with meditative effects, and is augmented further by a recording of an interview of late African-American author Maya Angelou.
7. iAAM
Coldplay are masters of the slow build. Time and time again, from Fix You to Trouble, they know how to develop a song from a muted introduction to a celestial-sounding crescendo by the end. Track seven iAAM, a plea to understanding one’s self-worth, does just that and you can’t help acknowledging the song-writing craftsmanship and production skill at work. Bravo.
8. Aeterna
While Coldplay’s success is admirable, you sometimes wonder at what artistic price? While Moon Music is rightfully viewed as a companion piece to Music of the Spheres, both albums often sound like a solo Martin effort rather than a band's.
While the successful world tour encompassing both records dispels the notion, the recordings are often bereft of Coldplay’s signature sounds such as the shimmering arpeggios of Jonny Buckland and languid basslines of Guy Berryman. Sometimes you don't even hear drummer Will Champion at all with all the processed beats powering the songs. Aeterna is the apogee of that sound, a tropical dance track may go down a treat in Saint-Tropez clubs while sounding like an empty band effort.
9. All My Love
Much better. The band lock into a lovely power ballad that is shorn of any unnecessary electronics and strings. It’s nothing but unabashed warmth with Martin penning his most direct set of romantic lyrics since Fix You. Expect this song to be a future wedding staple.
10. One World
Oh dear. For such a renowned ear for quality control, producer Martin should have pulled the band aside and said: "No lads.” One World is more a mantra of a song, with singer Martin repeating the lyrics, with a subtle variation here and there, as it builds from solitary piano to a choral finale. It leaves Moon Music on an alarmingly cloying note.
The verdict: Is this Coldplay’s best album?
Once the hysteria dies down regarding their brilliantly successful Music of the Spheres tour, fans may regard Moon Music as a largely middling effort with a few bright notes. While lovely and stirring at times, the album falls short in reaching for the kind of humanistic pathos the band are striving for. That said, even when reaching for the moon, their ambition hasn’t dimmed their seemingly endearing ability to please anyone and everyone.
