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8.0
82288
8.0 |
Q
More so than Mylo Xyloto, this warm and busy album pursues pop as a democratic ideal. Print edition only
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8.0
82341
8.0 |
Evening Standard
Uplifting, preppy pop with a pristine finish
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8.0
82368
8.0 |
Rolling Stone
Might be Coldplay's brightest album ever – an eagle's-wings whoosh of soaring melodies, happy dance beats and Martin at his most wide-eyed
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8.0
82378
8.0 |
NME
The most satisfying collection of songs they’ve written in years
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7.5
82631
7.5 |
Beardfood
Pure fun
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7.0
82325
7.0 |
All Music
Coldplay cheerfully embrace the cheese, ratcheting up both the sparkle and the sentiment so the album feels genuine in its embrace of eternal middle-aged clichés
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6.7
82371
6.7 |
Pretty Much Amazing
The album doesn’t always work, but more often than not it sounds enough like vintage Coldplay to satisfy both diehards and casual listener
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6.0
82434
6.0 |
The Independent
Too much emotional laundry but it’s a step in the right direction
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6.0
83084
6.0 |
Gig Soup
It won’t change your life, or even your week, but the attempt to ‘go pop’ is a refreshing one, even if it doesn’t really succeed
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6.0
82370
6.0 |
Spin
It plays more like an unenthused rediscovery of past prizes than an album with its own specific code to be unlocked
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6.0
82346
6.0 |
The Observer
Coldplay have tended to absorb their influences more transparently than most. And for all the novelties here – electronic touches, chiefly – many echoes of U2 and Arcade Fire remain
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6.0
82290
6.0 |
NOW
Everyone loves a great smile, but A Head Full Of Dreams doesn't have any teeth
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6.0
82307
6.0 |
Digital Spy
Coldplay have gone from the saddest album of their career with Ghost Stories to the happiest with A Head Full of Dreams; they work better as part one and two
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6.0
82314
6.0 |
Exclaim
A Head Full of Dreams might have been a poptimist masterpiece. Instead, it's just another Coldplay album, with all the baggage — both positive and negative — that entails
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6.0
82316
6.0 |
The Guardian
Despite roping in the production team behind hits by Rihanna and Katy Perry, Chris Martin and co can’t seem to help lapsing into the same old windy cliches and nondescript balladry
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5.5
82287
5.5 |
The 405
Unless they can get Dravs and Eno back behind the boards to cast one last spell, it might be time to pack this one up for good
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5.0
82308
5.0 |
Consequence Of Sound
Sure, there are some overwrought moments, but at least they're having fun
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5.0
82400
5.0 |
The Music
It's more of the same from the world's most comfortable rock band
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5.0
82403
5.0 |
musicOMH
The best parts of A Head Full Of Dreams are where the band cut loose and play around with expectations
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4.8
82305
4.8 |
Pitchfork
Too often, the album’s pat platitudes place us on the other side of the velvet rope, left to ponder the sight of some self-satisfied people having the time of their lives
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4.0
82289
4.0 |
Mojo
A big record, but one that leaves little mark. Print edition only
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4.0
82318
4.0 |
The Irish Times
Equal parts lifeless and lofty, heart-wrenching and emotionally guilt-free – the shaky countdown to a Coldplay Christmas starts here
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4.0
82344
4.0 |
The FT
Finds them heading deeper into mainstream pop
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4.0
82364
4.0 |
PopMatters
Still stays firmly in its safe zone, avoiding some of both Mylo Xyloto‘s and Ghost Stories’ more glaringly pretentious moments but failing to offer us anything more interesting in return
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4.0
82372
4.0 |
The Arts Desk
“Colour Spectrum,” with its massed choruses and wall-of-sound production is the one song that shows just how bonkers this band can be at their best
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4.0
82449
4.0 |
Clash
It’s clear that Coldplay retain their thirst, their passion for making music - it’s merely a shame that it results in such polite noises
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4.0
82506
4.0 |
DIY
For a record about breaking ground and finding a new, happier place, where’s the catharsis?
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4.0
82848
4.0 |
Spectrum Culture
Neither noble experiment nor fitting farewell, A Head Full Of Dreams is a disappointing dud from a band that deserves a better send-off
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3.0
82452
3.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Sounds like a well-studied, rigid, demographic-conscious impression of Coldplay, empty as a consequence
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2.0
82465
2.0 |
Under The Radar
If this was the band's debut, it could easily be written off as another slick, overproduced pop group
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