Mylo Xyloto - Coldplay
Metascore
65 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 39
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 39
  3. Negative: 2 out of 39
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  1. The Quietus
    Oct 25, 2011
    30
    For everything else there's Coldplay: reliable, built to move, and able to run on hot air alone.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Oct 24, 2011
    37
    Every touch of lyrical bitterness is followed by enough sugar to mask the taste, which might be good in the short term but isn't a recipe for long-term health.

User Reviews

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User Score
7.0 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 221 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 73 out of 95
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 95
  3. Negative: 10 out of 95
  1. mohamedfayyad
    10
    i know that many people are disappointed but this is why coldplay is agreat band as the fans don't accept any other thing but perfection. though the album is great maybe the songwriting isn't so good but the music is very amazing and unique… Full Review »
  2. Robnads
    3
    Mylo Xyloto is a huge disappointment. Yes, it is terrific production, but other than the single, "Paradise", Chris Martin's songwriting is surprisingly weak and the album lack the cohesion of "Viva La Vida". It's a foray into cheesy contemporary pop and electronica. Growing musically is great, to latching on to a genre that creates worse music than they do is a huge mistake. As a Coldplay fan, I think I'll pretend this album never happened and hope Martin goes back to putting songwriting first on the next one. Here, it feels like he's scraping the bottom of the barrel.… Full Review »
  3. Siriusfisherman
    7
    Mylo Xyloto is the fifth full-length album by Coldplay, following their 2008 release Viva la Vida. In many ways the two albums are similar, most notably they used the same producer, the legendary Brian Eno. They also both are noticeably different from anything they released before, both are much more upbeat and confident, and they take the use of many new instruments. The main differences come in the sound, Viva la Vida was darker and classical sounding while Mylo Xyloto has a much more poppy and electronic sound. But now lets really just get into Mylo Xyloto, the album that is under question. Martin has said that the album was influenced by old american graffiti. It is very apparent what he is talking about, all of the artwork has very bubbly letters and bright colors. This also translates into the music, as with all their albums the artwork matches the music almost perfectly. But when you look at the artwork for a while and listen to the music, you get the sense that the band has never actually seen or met the people and the culture that the graffiti came from, it seem like they have just seen pictures and could only see the silver lining in what is actually something that came from some very dark lives. At no point in listening to this music do you ever get the feel that you are on the streets, rather you feel you are in a studio with a wall being covered in spray paint by two lovebirds remembering their lives. It is very typical of Coldplay to romanticize things like this, and in all fairness it is probably what they were going for. When you get into the details of the music however, there are quite a few things that I am sure the band was not going for. Much of the music structure is repetitive, this is something they did a very good job to avoid on Viva la Vida. This also brings up my main problem with this album, and that is about five songs seem to want to be the climax of the story. There is nothing wrong with Coldplay making some stadium rockers, but it does not go well in the context of the album. There are so many screaming choruses by the time you get halfway through the album that you start to not take anything he says later on to heart. There are also no true highlights to this album either. 'Major Minus' is a pretty neat sounding rock song, but it cannot compare to something like 'Strawberry Swing' or 'Violet Hill'. The general feel this album gives me is not a big change from the last, it is just produced and recorded differently and lacks the high points. The only major difference is that it is much more of a pop record, but Viva could have very well been as well if that is what they wanted. All in all, this is not any major step away from 'Viva la vida', and in the grand scheme of things that really makes this album nothing spectacular. It is just a collection of some more songs for Coldplay to rule a festival with.… Full Review »
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