Mylo Xyloto
by Coldplay

This is the album where they turned into a shit band. their first 4 albums were amazing, the best 4 consecutive albums put out by a band in the 21st century (maybe behind arcade fire but you get the point).

Mylo was the album were the band went from being a respectable alternative band to a pop band. They sold out, and just put out shitty pop music. This album to me is like that scene in the revenge of the sith where Anakin chops off Mace Windu's hand and joins the dark side. Except Coldplay is Anakin, the jedi order is post-Britpop and the empire is generic pop music.

I was really excited for their half time show, as I was a huge fan of their first four albums, but I forgot what the band turned into since Viva La Vida. I was very disappointed with their performance.

Chris Martin, may god have mercy on your soul.

To be honest, this album was a big disappointment. Chris Martin goes on and on in interviews about how they want to make a great album, something to go in the record books as an all time great, and yet they continue to make albums like this. I will say, Viva la Vida was a small step in the right direction, but this is a big step back in the wrong direction. There are times in this album were I am literally thinking that I am listening to U2, 'a hopeful transmission' and 'don't let it break your heart' sound like covers of unreleased songs. After their experience with X&Y I thought they would have moved away from this kind of pop nonsense. As a lover of the band, it is a huge disappointment to see this kind of album, after two listens there was nothing even as remotely interesting as on Viva la Vida. It is apparent that the band is torn between popularity and critical acclaim. They want to be Radiohead, they want to be U2, they would even settle for something like Arcade Fire, but they will never be that. They either have to keep making crap like this that makes teenage city girls vaginas tingle or throw it all up in the air and start from scratch and try to make it as a real group of artists. Mylo Xyloto is nothing to listen to more than a couple of times for a person like me, there is nothing remotely challenging about the music. In fact I would say that it is the least offensive album of the decade thus far, and that is not a compliment.

From sageamagoo TOP 100 COMMENTER 11/25/2012 00:11 | #55834 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Bleh. Rush of Blood and X&Y beat this by a long shot, and Viva la Vida and Parachutes blew it out of the water. Why would anyone this good write music to fill a slot next to Mr. Beaver?

I can understand why this album looks disappointing from certain perspectives - such talent and you can imagine something quite different could have been created - but I also have to put in a few words for the positive case as it were since I love this album and haven't stopped listening to it since I got it on 21st October.

The reasons I can list at the moment that I think make me like this album so much are a) it's a pleasure to listen to b) it has depth and moving moments c) they've chosen simple universal themes and woven them in consistently d) there are so many standout tracks e) they have gone all out to make the best Coldplay pop album they could and it works!

In the same way that Sgt Pepper's is a great pop album, I believe MX is a great pop album. If you listen for a while the "old" Coldplay is still there (UFO, Major Minus, Us Against the World, Charlie Brown, even Hurts Like Heaven for a start).

I love Every Teardrop is a Waterfall and can now more than just tolerate Paradise and Princess of China - I can see their merit and they work and make the album more interesting and lively than it would have been if it had been just "old" "pure" Coldplay. If they just made an album full of these kinds of things I would be very disappointed I think but mixed into the bigger melting pot it works for me.

I find sublime, moving and touching moments - including Us Against the World, the simplicity of Up in Flames and the great closing set with Don't Let it Break Your Heart and Up With the Birds.

The old charm is still there in abundance and the Chris Martin kind of bumbling lyrical amateurish genius is there of course - one moment he is falling over himself getting his lyrical limbs tangled up as it were ("bullets catch in her teeth" - please no Chris that metaphor is just TOO mixed for me :-( ) but then he all of a sudden gets it right with something like "maybe I'm in the gap between the two trapezes" or "just erodes us in the rain, erodes us and see roses in the rain" - brilliant!

I find elements from all of their older albums woven in here - the ending two tracks are a much more enjoyable and controlled closing than what they attempted on Viva la Vida and quite honestly the simplicity of the "simple plot, good things are coming our way" does remind me of the Beatles (sorry heresy I know ;-). And taking that heresy even further, while it's a very different approach to music and a very different art, is there perhaps a conscious manipulation of the music moving into the sentimental mode that reminds you of the Beatles and even of Radiohead say at the end of Kid A (though to very different effect admittedly)!

There I've said it - others can and will disagree but personally I love the album and I think it will be with us for some time. Of course it's possible I'll get bored with it in a month and never listen to the thing again but at this stage I don't believe that will be the case!
(Edited)

It's weird how Coldplay have just sorta sunk into the mainstream and lowered their quality throughout their career. This isn't a terrible album but it's a bit of a boring shot at mainstream success, which doesn't seem to involve any skill right now.