Albums to watch

Mylo Xyloto

Coldplay

Mylo Xyloto

The fifth album from the stadium indie group betrays a heavy pop influence

ADM rating[?]

6.4

Label
Parlophone
UK Release date
24/10/2011
US Release date
24/10/2011
  1. 10.0 |   Q

    Music this uplifting, this inspirational, belongs among the stars. Print edition only

  2. 8.0 |   Clash

    An excellent album with depths unexplainable within this word count
    Read Review

  3. 8.0 |   Entertainment.ie

    ters gonna hate - but listen to Mylo Xyloto with an open mind, and what you'll find is a dam fine album jam-packed with stadium rocking anthems in the making
    Read Review

  4. 8.0 |   Mojo

    A more streamlined affair, re-embracing themselves as an unpretentious yet big-sounding pop group. Print edition only

  5. 8.0 |   BBC

    Mylo Xyloto may have an oblique title but it’s a triumph because the music is anything but
    Read Review

  6. 8.0 |   The Irish Times

    This is very much Coldplay 2.0, with a sound that has been pulled into tight focus and an embarrassing abundance of new musical ideas to play with
    Read Review

  7. 8.0 |   Evening Standard

    It's not perfect - Chris Martin's lyrics still don't bear scrutiny - but there is greatness and high-flying at every turn. This is the era of Coldplay
    Read Review

  8. 8.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    Great pop music with its big heart in the right place
    Read Review

  9. 8.0 |   The Fly

    Spectacularly self-indulgent it may be, but when Coldplay are this absurdly ambitious, it’s hard to pretend they’re anything shy of impressive
    Read Review

  10. 7.5 |   A.V. Club

    Coldplay’s most consistently listenable album since 2002’s A Rush Of Blood To The Head
    Read Review

  11. 7.0 |   Rave Magazine

    Far from Coldplay’s best...but thanks to Brian Eno’s studio skills, at least it never sounds any less than ravishing
    Read Review

  12. 7.0 |   Pitchfork

    A band on top of a game they really don't have much competition in
    Read Review

  13. 7.0 |   AU Review

    Disappointingly, the album ends with two flabby, over-produced, identikit anthems – which almost ruin a rather splendid album
    Read Review

  14. 7.0 |   Under The Radar

    It's difficult to ascertain how much credit to give Eno for Coldplay's uptick in ambition and quality but Martin and the band have certainly been eager, open-minded students
    Read Review

  15. 7.0 |   Spin

    The sonic detail accrues with such speed that it's like Martin and his mates fear you'll bail if they don't grab you straightaway
    Read Review

  16. 7.0 |   Rolling Stone

    The choruses are bigger, the textures grander, the optimism more optimistic. It's a bear-hug record for a bear-market world
    Read Review

  17. 6.0 |   Uncut

    There's no shortage of decent tunes. Print edition only

  18. 6.0 |   No Ripcord

    Once more, they bust out a bracing, if slightly ineffective, concept that showcases them at their most idiosyncratic without losing sight of what their audience wants: a dependable dosage of rapturous anthems
    Read Review

  19. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    For those who want another dose of warm, cosy fluff, this will do the trick. Rihanna's appearance aside, Mylo Xyloto is everything you'd expect from a Coldplay album
    Read Review

  20. 6.0 |   Slant Magazine

    While the melodies on Mylo Xyloto are some of the strongest and most memorable in the band's catalogue, it's the shortcomings in their lyrics that keep Coldplay from packing the kind of emotional wallop their sound really demands
    Read Review

  21. 6.0 |   State

    This isn’t one of the great albums of the year, but it doesn’t really need to be. Its ultimate purpose, given sincere-sounding admonishments like ‘Don’t Let It Break Your Heart, might be as simple succor for Coldplay’s millions of fans, at an impasse with a fractious, chaotic and economically unstable world
    Read Review

  22. 6.0 |   The Observer

    It's a bit uplifting, but ultimately insipid
    Read Review

  23. 6.0 |   Prefix

    Still, Coldplay remain an eminently listenable, catchy band
    Read Review

  24. 6.0 |   The AU Review

    The album lacks the depth of instruments of previous releases, making each track sound less distinct from one another
    Read Review

  25. 6.0 |   Paste Magazine

    Certainly not an intimate affair, but tucked between the synth bangers and arena-ready epics are a few quiet gems that make an “acoustic project” seem like an idea worth pursuing next go-round
    Read Review

  26. 6.0 |   FasterLouder

    Mylo Xyloto is certainly not a bad album, but merely a scuff-mark on the catalogue of one of the world’s biggest bands
    Read Review

  27. 5.6 |   Pretty Much Amazing

    Fraught with growing pains
    Read Review

  28. 5.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    It's not, on the whole, dislikable; it's just a bit of a mess
    Read Review

  29. 5.0 |   Blurt

    The album is not terrible, just not terribly original either
    Read Review

  30. 5.0 |   Beats Per Minute

    A mixed bag of ideas that never really comes together
    Read Review

  31. 5.0 |   Consequence Of Sound

    A clustered collection of ideas and themes
    Read Review

  32. 5.0 |   NME

    There's nothing wrong as such with Mylo Xyloto. It just feels like, once again, Coldplay have done the selfless thing and gone out to protect EMI's share price
    Read Review

  33. 4.0 |   The Independent

    The supposed concept – lovers united against an oppressive dystopia – rendered in music that's equally as hackneyed
    Read Review

  34. 4.0 |   The Quietus

    Passion is Coldplay's passion – seriously, Mylo Xyloto tugs the heartstrings like it's dragging a sofa upstairs – and this is as deep as a luxury bathtub from Homebase
    Read Review

  35. 4.0 |   The Scotsman

    It’s all basically the same old underwhelming arena anthems
    Read Review

  36. 4.0 |   PopMatters

    A direct sequel to Viva la Vida. Unfortunately, this is the kind of sequel where nothing new is introduced, no great revelations are to be had, and the things that made the previous installment so great are nowhere to be found
    Read Review


blog comments powered by Disqus

Watch it

Roll over video for more options

Hear it

Preview & download it

Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto

  • Download full album for just £7.49
  • 1. Mylo Xyloto N/A
  • 2. Hurts Like Heaven N/A
  • 3. Paradise N/A
  • 4. Charlie Brown N/A
  • 5. Us Against the World N/A
  • 6. M.M.I.X. N/A
  • 7. Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall N/A
  • 8. Major Minus N/A
  • 9. U.F.O. N/A
  • 10. Princess of China N/A
  • 11. Up in Flames N/A
  • 12. A Hopeful Transmission N/A
  • 13. Don't Let It Break Your Heart N/A
  • 14. Up With the Birds N/A
  • Service provided by 7Digital

Latest Reviews

More reviews