Mylo Xyloto
by Coldplay
  • Record Label: Capitol
  • Release Date: Oct 24, 2011
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 39 Critic Reviews

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. Sputnikmusic
    Nov 14, 2011
    100
    Mylo Xyloto proves that Coldplay are quite simply the best pop band in the world, bar none.
  2. Q Magazine
    Nov 3, 2011
    100
    Music this uplifting, this inspirational, belongs among the stars. [Dec 2011, p.120]
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  3. Absolute Punk (Staff reviews)
    Oct 28, 2011
    85
    Though it is probably not Coldplay's best, it is indeed a memorable listen and another chapter for a band whose place in rock music is firmly cemented.
  5. Mojo
    Nov 3, 2011
    80
    This is Coldplay getting in, delivering the tune, getting out, influenced by the discipline of cutting-edge R&B but still capable of testing arena acoustics with some supermassive bluster, glitterball lustre and classic Buckland glide'n'twiddle. [Dec 2011, p.46]
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  6. Sputnikmusic
    Oct 25, 2011
    80
    Martin's newest record is a successfully didactic and direct body of work.
  7. Clash Music
    Oct 24, 2011
    80
    Coldplay's electronic excursions may be more cerebral and less embroiled than those of Thom Yorke's continued influence on Radiohead, but their progress is to be applauded, for this is an excellent album with depths unexplainable within this word count.
  8. The Telegraph (UK)
    Oct 20, 2011
    80
    Great pop music with its big heart in the right place.
  9. BBC Music
    Oct 17, 2011
    80
    Mylo Xyloto may have an oblique title but it's a triumph because the music is anything but.
  10. The A.V. Club
    Oct 25, 2011
    75
    It actually sounds like a natural extension of Coldplay's big, radio-friendly sound. It's also Coldplay's most consistently listenable album since 2002's A Rush Of Blood To The Head, though it resembles that album little.
  11. Under The Radar
    Nov 28, 2011
    70
    Mylo Xyloto feels like it was created by an actual rock band, with each player stepping up his game.
  12. Filter
    Nov 8, 2011
    70
    With all the bells and whistles in prominent display, Coldplay may have made their most enjoyable album. I only hope the sourpusses enjoy it.
  13. American Songwriter
    Oct 26, 2011
    70
    Mylo Xyloto is fully realized and instantly revealed on first listen.
  14. Pitchfork
    Oct 26, 2011
    70
    While so many bands at their status revert to bloated contentment or some vague idea of rockist salvation, Mylo Xyloto finds Coldplay successfully continuing to explore the tension of wanting to be one of the best bands in the world and having to settle for being one of the biggest.
  15. AllMusic
    Oct 24, 2011
    70
    They've embraced their schoolboy selves and are simply singing songs of love and good cheer, albeit on a grand scale that somehow seems smaller due to the group's insuppressible niceness.
  16. Rolling Stone
    Oct 17, 2011
    70
    Coldplay rage in their own lovably goofy way.
  17. Spin
    Oct 17, 2011
    70
    Where Viva La Vida showcased Coldplay's sense of adventure, this one feels more eager to please; 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.
  18. cokemachineglow
    Nov 1, 2011
    67
    To Coldplay's credit, amidst the over-production they still manage to reach their quota of flag-waving festival rock songs, some of which could be considered career highlights.

Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Most Discussed Album of 2011
17
#17 Most Shared Album of 2011

User Reviews

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User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 487 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 358 out of 487
  2. Mixed: 84 out of 487
  3. Negative: 45 out of 487
  1. mohamedfayyad
    Oct 26, 2011
    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.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
    Oct 24, 2011
    3
    Mylo Xyloto is a huge disappointment. Yes, it is terrific production, but other than the single, "Paradise", Chris Martin's songwriting isMylo 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. Tremor2005
    Oct 24, 2011
    9
    "Mylo Xyloto", Coldplay's 5th LP, was supposedly influenced by New York graffiti - a theme visible from both the album artwork and the video"Mylo Xyloto", Coldplay's 5th LP, was supposedly influenced by New York graffiti - a theme visible from both the album artwork and the video for first single "Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall". Strangely enough, it is also very much audible in the music. Unlike the symphonic "Viva La Vida" and sonically overwhelming "X&Y", "Mylo Xyloto" revels in synth-based, warm, unabashedly pop melodies. The wonderful opener "Hurts Like Heaven" (discounting the title track intro) bursts with energy, lyrics flying past in a manner not heard in any Coldplay song before. It is an intoxicating indicator of things to come on perhaps Coldplay's most immediate album to date. If "Viva La Vida" was a bit of a grower, "Mylo Xyloto" instead wastes no time setting its stall.

    Unexpectedly perhaps, the star of this uptempo, smile-inducing, hell DANCEABLE album is the lavish guitar licks provided by unsung Coldplay hero Johnny Buckland. Whilst Martin is undoubtedly the face of Coldplay the rest of the band are, well, not just "the rest of the band". Faster and more complex than before Buckland is beginning to carve his own niche sound - a skill beyond measure for a musician - and the speed, dexterity and subtleness of his playing is more valuable than Martin's enthusiastic if slightly wobbly lyrics.

    Drummer Will Champion also demonstrates his own abilities to perfection, alongside his own beautiful vocals on album highlight (and "Parachutes" throwback) "Us Against The World".
    For any Coldplay fans afraid of the change the group are going through, they should be reassured slightly by the presence of such a song, alongside the quietly beautiful "U.F.O", "God Put A Smile"-recalling "Major Minus" and "Up In Flames", a disarmingly simplistic but nonetheless gorgeous ballad. These fans are going to struggle to stomach the collaboration with Rihanna, a polarising debating point that I hope does not overshadow the brilliance on show on this album. "Princess of China" is the closest to RnB that Coldplay have ever got, with its bass heavy synths and stomping beat, and it does take some getting used to.

    If "Princess Of China" doesn't do it for you then other highlights "Charlie Brown", "Paradise" and "Every Teardrop", each song buoyant with hope, showcase a simple truth: like them or not, Coldplay are probably the best band in the world at what they do, and "Mylo Xyloto" is the band at the top of their game. A point has been deducted for some slightly dubious lyrics ("I turn the music up, I got my records on") and the unnecessary separation of "M.M.I.X" from "Every Teardrop", but these are minor quibbles on an otherwise superb album. If anything else it should finally shut up their detractors who moan that "everything sounds the same" - whilst Brian Eno's work does bare some familiarities to "Viva La Vida" in places ("Life In Technicolour" for example), the differences far outweigh the similarities. "Mylo Xyloto" is an uplifting, foot-tapping joy set to soundtrack many lives, mine included, for years to come.    … Full Review »
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