coldplay is like comfort food

I have a melancholic relationship with the U.K. band. They were my study buddies during college, and helped me through many midterms and finals with Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head. When I listen to Coldplay, I'm high and in a trance of beauty and light and no matter what happens, untouchable. It doesn't matter how macabre the lyrics are, they always satisfy my soul.

Coldplay gets a lot of slack for previously having a pretty monotone album, which I've never blamed them for because to me, each song has a different message. However, with their latest album, Mylo Xyloto, not only have they reached a new level of sound, but they have included the variety of sound that critics have been waiting for. The way they've woven the electronics into their sound infuses the album with a newly found freshness. The collaboration with Rihanna was completely unexpected and brilliant. Princess of China was the perfect finale for a breakthrough album.

When you listen to Mylo Xyloto the whole way through you can't help but notice that each song ties into the other with little melodies in the background that suddenly remind you of a previous song or lyrics with the title of another song. For example, the first single Paradise references the second single Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall in the line “…the wheel breaks the butterfly, every tear a waterfall".  Whether that was intentional or not, it provides a sense of unity and integrity to the album. It has been masterfully crafted to tell a very unique love story, inspired by old school American graffiti, with a very happy ending.

All of the tracks are amazing and each have their own pulse. Hurts Like Heaven is actually one of my roommate's favorites because it has an 80's pop song feel to it. Us Against the World takes me back to vintage Coldplay. Charlie Brown is very playful and will also be the band's third single off the album. I hope you have the chance to enjoy it as much as I have and will continue to, until the next one.

This album was the soundtrack to my vacation in Costa Rica and will forever remind of the blissful time I spent there. I love that about music - being able to cement my memories in their sound.

Yours truly,
Jen