Everyday Life
by Coldplay
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: Nov 22, 2019
Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 17 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 26
  3. Negative: 0 out of 26
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  1. Los Angeles Times
    Dec 11, 2019
    60
    And musically, at least, that journey paid off. ... Martin can be awfully simplistic in these songs — a problem in any context but especially on an album otherwise marked by some of his most nuanced words.
  2. No Ripcord
    Dec 2, 2019
    60
    Everyday Life may not be able to reach the peaks of Coldplay’s work in the 2000s or have the discipline of the mostly-minimalist Ghost Stories, but it shows a level of creativity, imagination and sheer enjoyment in making music that felt like it had been lost.
  3. The Observer (UK)
    Nov 25, 2019
    60
    Arabesque is as good as anything they’ve done in the last 10 years, with French lyrics and echoes of the intensity of Primal Scream’s If They Move Kill ’Em refracted through a skronking jazz filter. But they’re rather less engaging when they hit the stadium preset buttons.
  5. The Independent (UK)
    Nov 21, 2019
    60
    Everyday Life is a fascinating, occasionally brilliant curio, reflective of a band still very much figuring out how to respond to a world that has become meaner, dirtier and crueller since they were singing about clocks and colours. They’re not quite there, but you can admire the effort all the same.
  6. Mojo
    Nov 21, 2019
    60
    An album hitting some dead ends, as other avenues open up. [Jan 2020, p.88]
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  7. The Guardian
    Nov 21, 2019
    60
    The straightforwardly Coldplay-esque moments sound more straightforward and Coldplay-esque than ever. ... But the dabblings in gospel (Broken) and bluesy doo-wop (Cry Cry Cry) seem like the result of a long and fruitful search to pinpoint the genres in which Coldplay are least suited to dabbling.
  8. Classic Rock Magazine
    Dec 10, 2019
    50
    There is the occasional flash of pop brilliance - notably desert-rock nugget Arabesque - but for non-fans Coldplay this dose of Everyday Life will be one they can easily do without. [Jan 2019, p.87]
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  9. Exclaim
    Nov 22, 2019
    50
    Everyday Life has more blunders than hits, but let's give Coldplay some credit — they've got a "go big or go home" attitude that's entertaining, even when it misses the mark.
  10. Under The Radar
    Nov 25, 2019
    40
    Even the nimble and funny "Guns" and the nothing-you-haven't-heard-from-Coldplay-before "Champions of the World" and "Orphans" aren't enough to forgive the shortcomings of the other tracks. Over the course of the whole record, the uninspired songwriting becomes a bit tiring, so the album as a whole is a disappointment for a band with so much talent and past successes.

Awards & Rankings

24
#24 Most Discussed Album of 2019

User Reviews

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User Score
8.3

Universal acclaim- based on 260 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 224 out of 260
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 260
  3. Negative: 16 out of 260
  1. Chiago
    Nov 22, 2019
    10
    The proof that Coldplay is still capable of doing amazing music. The songs are so different from each other, but all of them, amazing in their way.
  2. skypala
    Nov 22, 2019
    10
    A cohesive yet widely varied collection of stories drawing from humanity and all the hardship and beauty that comes with it.

    The album    A cohesive yet widely varied collection of stories drawing from humanity and all the hardship and beauty that comes with it.

    The album starts calm and almost melancholy, in the opener Sunrise, which in it's own somber way perfectly encapsulates all the emotion that is to follow. Within the instrumental string track, all of the problems and beauty of yesterday and tomorrow are felt in just the span of 2 minutes. This transforms into a wave of euphoria in the dreamy and ambient track Church but turns into a sort of dread with the slow burning and socially charged Trouble in Town which explodes into a groggy climax filled with detuned strings and raging guitar. The mood then dissolves into further sorrow until building into explosive anger with the 6 minute grandiose arabesque, before simmering into solemn contemplation in the choral When I Need a Friend track to close off the Sunrise half of the LP.

    Then in sunset, each song is kind of like a different emotional release for everything we felt in sunrise. An angry satirical rant in guns, speaks to the frustrations of political deadlock in America. Joyous yearning in orphans of lost innocence in the shimmer Orphans. Nostalgic appreciation and genuine optimism in the soft yet touching eko. Cry Cry Cry takes a 50s Doo-Wop and turns it into warm embrace for someone who needs it. And finally, Martin reflects on the life of an old companion, speaking to platonic friendships that have the ability to outlast lifetimes in the bitter sweet finger-style guitar song Old Friends.

    It all culminates in a feeling of peace of assurance in the instrumental track Bani Adam, which begins as a classical piano solo before coming to life in a spacey arrangement in which a poem eloquently states "if you don't hurt when you see others hurting, you do not deserve to call yourself human". Then, with a seamless transition, the band explodes into optimistic euphoria in penultimate track Champion of the World, which tells a story of perseverance amongst adversity. The LP draws to an emotional close by recollecting the ups and downs of everyday life in the closing track, aptly named Everyday Life with the line "Got to keep dancing when the lights go out".    … Full Review »
  3. ISJ
    Nov 23, 2019
    10
    In Everyday Life, Coldplay dares to venture into the concepts that made them great to begin with whilst still maintaining a unique sound. ThisIn Everyday Life, Coldplay dares to venture into the concepts that made them great to begin with whilst still maintaining a unique sound. This makes the album perhaps their most interesting to date as they'll be facing the large mainstream pop-audiance head on with little production on most songs. This is an album that will come to embody Coldplay's impact on a music industry where most artists stay within their comfort zone. Can a wholehearted fan have asked for more than what this album offers?… Full Review »
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