The English quartet’s fifth studio album hits shelves in Britain on Monday and the United States on Tuesday, and early critical response is mostly positive for a record aided and “enoxified” by Brian Eno.
Judging by comments made during a blitz of interviews to publicise the album, Coldplay could do with a little love, something that might seem strange given their success. Their last record, ‘Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends’, was released in 2008 and went on to become that calendar year’s top-selling album at 6.8 million copies.
The one before that, ‘X & Y’, claimed the same honor in 2005, shifting 8.3 million copies globally. They are one of the world’s biggest bands, have multiple Grammys and album sales of around 50 million to their name.
“We got to a very low place on the last record where we felt not very popular,” lead singer Chris Martin told the Sun tabloid.
YOUNG COMPETITION: That sense of defiance came with a realisation that, in order to rule the charts again, Coldplay are not up against stadium bands such as U2 but teen sensation Justin Bieber and English singing sensation Adele. “Now we have Justin Bieber and Adele to compete with and they’re a lot younger,” 34-year-old Martin, who is married to Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, said in a recent interview.
“We have to have the energy to put as much effort into our work as they do. If it’s over, it’s over and I can live with that. The most important thing always is to proceed as if every album is the last and not expect anything more.”
Early reviews of ‘Mylo Xyloto’ have been generally positive, with critics remarking that, while offering some fresh twists, the sound is essentially the Coldplay of old.
Rolling Stone magazine’s Josh Eells gave the record three-and-a-half stars, commenting: “On Mylo Xyloto, the choruses are bigger, the textures grander, the optimism more optimistic. It’s a bear-hug record for a bear-market world.” Martin, along with bandmates Jonny Buckland (guitar), Guy Berryman (bass) and Will Champion (drums), have produced a concept album loosely based on a love story set in a dystopian world.
