“Music of the Spheres”
New album: Coldplay unpacks boy band sound
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin and bassist Guy Berryman at the BRIT Awards in London
© John Marshall / AFP
In the early 2000s, Coldplay enraptured with melancholy ballads and gentle pop rock. But the group has moved away from that. On their new album, after 25 years of band history, the British are embarking on a path to the boy band sound.
Until shortly before its release on October 15th, Coldplay’s ninth studio album was kept strictly confidential. “Music Of The Spheres” was only allowed to be heard in advance by selected media representatives who were willing to sign an extensive and sometimes absurd contract. A musical surprise was hardly to be expected. Because two singles that have already been released give a foretaste: The British quartet, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, is now making a boy band.
Coldplay is commercializing its style
Since the late 2000s, Coldplay, which are now one of the most successful pop groups in the world, have been increasingly commercializing their style – away from melancholy, gentle indie rock to sometimes shallow radio pop. While they filled ever larger halls and finally stadiums at spectacular concerts, performed at the Glastonbury Festival, appeared on international television shows and made their music available for product advertising, the British were increasingly distancing themselves from their musical roots.
On “Music Of The Spheres”, Coldplay follow the dance pop trend and land somewhere between Dua Lipa, David Guetta and The Weeknd. The song “Higher Power” has been featured in a TV commercial for electric cars for weeks. For “My Universe” the British collaborated with the hip Korean boy group BTS, which is experiencing a worldwide hype. The 44-year-old Chris Martin, who is still quite inconspicuous even in colorful clothes, sings over synthesizers, samples and electro beats in a duet with the seven stylish teen idols. In the first hour after publication, the video was viewed more than 2.5 million times on YouTube. No question about it: the song is catchy.
London: where it all began
It’s an amazing musical transformation for the band, which was reportedly formed by four students in 1996 in London. Singer and pianist Chris Martin, lead guitarist Jonny Buckland and bassist Guy Berryman studied together at University College London. Drummer Will Champion joined them a year later. After two EPs, Coldplay became known to a wider audience in 2000 with the hit single “Yellow” and their debut album “Parachutes”.
Their excellent second long player “A Rush Of Blood To The Head” (2002) finally made Coldplay superstars, the next British music sensation. The poignant piano ballad “The Scientist” is a classic today, as is “In My Place” or the driving “Clocks” with its hypnotic piano riff. British music magazines labeled the music as post-Britpop – but some also dismissed it as a radio head for the poor. Either way, Coldplay was unstoppable.
From “melancholic” to “radio-friendly”
Three years later, the quartet followed up very successfully with “X&Y”. Apart from “Fix You”, the departure from the melancholy Coldplay sound was already announced. “Speed Of Sound” seemed like a toned down version of “Clocks”. “Talk” was a bit rockier, but light and suitable for radio. After all, no one could accuse them of being a Radiohead fake anymore. The band has garnered Grammys, Brit Awards and numerous other awards over the years. The sing-along hymn “Viva La Vida” (2008) from the album of the same name is Coldplay’s best-selling single to this day, reaching number one in Great Britain and the USA. Very catchy, very successful – this trend continued on the following albums. The only exception: the strangely experimental double album “Everyday Life” from 2019, by Coldplay standards.
Many Coldplay fans from the very beginning and music critics, on the other hand, were disappointed with the now interchangeable sound. Just recently the magazine “Rolling Stone” criticized Coldplay for having “completely given up their artistic idea, their musical model in favor of a haphazard mix of pop standards and performance trends”.
New album: “Music Of The Spheres”
For “Music Of The Spheres”, Coldplay collaborated not only with the Korean superstars BTS, but also with the Swedish songwriter Max Martin, a real pop hit: He wrote, among other things, for the Backstreet Boys (“I Want It That Way”), Britney Spears (“Oops! … I Did It Again”), Katy Perry (“I Kissed A Girl”) and Taylor Swift (“Shake It Off”) some of their biggest hits. Judging by the success, the four British can feel confirmed. “My Universe” is their first number one hit in the US since “Viva La Vida”. And one can assume that “Music Of The Spheres” will also be sold or streamed millions of times.
If you can’t do much with the band and their new style, you should still give “Coloratura” a chance. At ten minutes and 18 seconds it is the longest song Coldplay have ever released. The great, atmospheric number is vaguely reminiscent of Pink Floyd. That’s still a musical surprise.