06 Oct Coldplay – Moon Music

The band’s tenth album is finally here.

24 years after Parachutes, Coldplay joins the exclusive circle of bands that have released ten albums. Throughout this period, the quartet has explored many facets of music, only to focus on pop in recent years. And Moon Music will continue in this direction, with 10 tracks spanning a total of 44 minutes.

The album was largely recorded in Spain, in Andalusia. And once again, the featured guests are impressive: Jon Hopkins, Burna Boy, Little Simz, Elyanna, Tini, Ayra Starr… As for the title, Chris Martin explained it this way: « It has to do with accepting all the different phases of life, and shining your light without asking for anything in return. »

The frontman went on to add that the album illustrates the feeling of waking up on the wrong side of the bed, in a bad mood, only for the songs to gradually allow us to feel the opposite by the end of the day. Pop will indeed be the central core of the album, although rock, funk, afrobeat, and even electronic music influences can be felt throughout.

As for the cover, it was created by Argentine photographer Matias Alonso Revelli. Of course, a massive promotional campaign was launched once again: immersive listening events, a partnership with Record Store Day, collaborations with FC Barcelona and Spotify, and a portion of the profits will be donated to the Choose Love charity.

But let’s get back to the music. Three singles have been released since June: feelslikeimfallinginlove, WE PRAY, and ALL MY LOVE. And these weren’t the only teasers, as throughout the Music of The Spheres tour, the Londoners shared numerous tracks with their fans. So, how do the studio versions hold up?

First of all, let’s admit that an opening orchestrated by Jon Hopkins (the mastermind behind Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends – 2008) is a wonderful way to start, creating a superb transition into feelslikeimfallinginlove, the standout single of the album. What a finale! It’s impossible not to recall that performance at the Groupama Stadium last June, where we were…

WE PRAY follows. A very interesting proposition on paper, with a tantalizing lineup, but it fails to fully take off… Much like JUPiTER, which, however, deserves credit for bringing some variety to the band’s recent musical tendencies. Then comes GOOD FEELiNGS, reviving the energy with its fantastic bassline. Simply sublime!

The journey continues with a rainbow emoji (yes, they’re still playing with that concept…), a lengthy track of over six minutes with multiple phases, and far from uninteresting. Then comes iAAM, which briefly harks back to the band’s early days, and of course, it hits the mark… AETERNA slips into electronic territory, though perhaps a bit too cautiously.

The final sprint begins with ALL MY LOVE, which starts off disappointingly but ultimately offers a more than decent conclusion. Then ONE WORLD steps in to close the album, also running over six minutes, though it doesn’t quite manage to convince. It’s hard to grasp the concept conveyed by the album, as mentioned at the start, with such calm tracks…

Looking at it with some distance, we must admit that this is a good Coldplay album in 2024, especially compared to the band’s recent records. There are good tracks—some even very good—but others are quickly forgettable, which is concerning for an album with only ten songs. Once again, several of these songs will fit perfectly into the setlist of their upcoming concerts, and we can’t wait to see how that turns out.

TRACKLIST

MOON MUSiC
feelslikeimfallinginlove
WE PRAY (feat. Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna, TINI)
JUPiTER
GOOD FEELiNGS (feat. Ayra Starr)
?
iAAM
AETERNA
ALL MY LOVE
ONE WORLD

Editor’s Rating: 7,5/10

Favorite Tracks: feelslikeimfallinginlove, GOOD FEELiNGS, iAAM