In a recent interview on the Colbert Report, Chris Martin smoothly brushed off jibes about Coldplay’s tendency to “reference” other artists with the simple quip: “We may not be as good musicians as Radiohead, but we are much better looking"
Coldplay – Mylo Xyloto
In a recent interview on the Colbert Report, Chris Martin smoothly brushed off jibes about Coldplay’s tendency to “reference” other artists with the simple quip: “We may not be as good musicians as Radiohead, but we are much better looking”.
He somehow managed to throw this obviously-rehearsed line in a non-egotistical way; and it is this self-effacing nature that makes the band so endearing (in my eyes), and why I have given Mylo Xyloto so much time (where your typical music critic may turn up their nose immediately).
In the same interview Stephen Colbert interprets the album’s title as a shrewd reference to Miley Cyrus, and in a way it kind of fits – Coldplay’s latest offering is a huge pop record, indeed likely to be the biggest of 2011.
And that is why Mylo Xyloto works – it is a pop record; it is simple and is meant to make you happy and sad and live in memory and dream of the future. Track names like “Us Against the World” and “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” are obvious. Martin continues that handy knack of encapsulating an entire world in a single lyric – “you use your heart like a weapon/and it feels like heaven (“Hurts Like Heaven”).
Likely chart-topper “Paradise” conjures up images of summer (island adventures, surf trips, bittersweet-albeit-slightly-secret romantic interludes), utilising the en vogue technique of stuttering syllabilism – as championed by pop-writer The Dream through Rihanna’s “Umberella” (“p-p-p-p-p-paradise”). No surprises then regarding Rihanna’s tumultuous appearance on the thundering “Princess of China”, though it could just as well have been Taylor Swift (“I could’ve been the princess/you’d be the king/I could have had a castle/and worn a ring”).
As much as I like the ode-to-growing-up that is “Charlie Brown”, the track manages to incorporate Arcade Fire’s entire back-catalogue, and it is here that many critics tend to trip over. Coldplay do have any all-too-easy way of wearing their influences on their sleeve, but they have never been shy about the fact – indeed the honesty seems to make it all ok. On first decent listen I heard everything from Bruce Springsteen to Kasabian(?) back to old-time classic Coldplay (e.g., the piano-driven “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart”); too many artists, to the point where I simply told my mind to stop and just enjoy the view (that view being from a Hillsborough residence overlooking a radiant Manukau Heads at the time – i.e., sunny).
The truth is it doesn’t actually matter if Coldplay aren’t the most original band in the world – (the track “Major Minus” bites back at their critics); they are still their own band. They write big happy/sad sing-a-longs and that seems to be their purpose in modern pop-culture. Mylo Xyloto is a record worth listening to. You will probably enjoy it immensely.
Written by Theo Sangster. 23 November 2011
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