Coldplay's album number ten (perhaps the penultimate of their career, as they declared) is the album I more or less expected!
I would have hoped, honestly, for something different, something that harkened back to the past, but I was certain that this would be the case.
To describe it in a few words, “MOON MUSiC” is a container of songs with an epic and motivating ambition, but which in the end is clouded by an excessive use of ambient-orchestral textures and by lyrics that often appear obvious and not up to par a formation as noble as theirs.
The album opens with the title track, a suite that begins with an instrumental part of almost three minutes, made up of orchestrations and piano, on which Chris's warm and reassuring voice is inserted, which leads directly to the single already released feelslikeimfallinginlovethe perfect repetitiveness of Coldplay with an easy hum.
Followed by the other single, WE PRAYa sound salad full of guests and dramatic strings with little impact.
The Coldplay pattern, made of pop, stadium epicness and orchestrations, is repeated in JUPiTER, a song with a strong social impact, which tells the story of a queer girl, while Good Feelings moves on a fun beat with disco-funk atmospheres, destined to make the audience dance at concerts.
🌈 is instead a six-minute choral and orchestral exaltation, with a mixture of dreamlike and sidereal ambient experimentation.
A crescendo with an unmistakable Coldplay style characterizes iAAMWhile AETERNA it's almost a Balearic banger with EDM-like hues, in which Martin moves elegantly between the electro beats.
All My Love represents the zenith of the “Coldplay-style”, a tear-jerking wedding song that will surely become a classic of their repertoire.
Closes the album ONE WORLD, a structured pop symphony, on which Martin sings “in the end it's only love”. A hope for a better world, rather illusory and naive, if we consider the absurd current situation of the planet.
I think this album can represent an answer to our internal struggles and perhaps even external ones; help us understand what the best answer is.
And I think Moon Music wants to tell us that perhaps love is the best answer.
This is the band's statement.
Love is undoubtedly the best answer, but it's probably not enough in this world anymore, not even if Coldplay sings and plays it!
SCORE: 6.00
MOON MUSiC – RATING 7.00
feelslikeimfallinginlove – RATING 6.00
WE PRAY ft Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and TINI – RATING 5.00
JUPiTER – RATING 6.00
GOOD FEELiNGS ft Ayra Starr – RATING 6.50
🌈 – RATING 6.50
iAAM – RATING 5.50
AETERNA – RATING 6.00
ALL MY LOVE – RATING 7.00
ONE WORLD – RATING 6.50
THE VOTES OF OTHERS
Nme – Rating 8.00
Rolling Stone (USA) – Rating 7.00
The Guardian – Rating 6.00
The Telegraph – Rating 6.00
The Independent – Rating 2.00
TO LISTEN NOW
MOON MUSiC – ALL MY LOVE – ONE WORLD
TO BE SKIPPED IMMEDIATELY
A first listen in full is a must. For the second perhaps I would skip the songs that are a little too pop-orchestral.