Coldplay- Moon Music
Label: Parlophone
Producers: Max Martin, Bill Rahko, Dan Green, Michael Ilbert, Jon Hopkins, Oscar Holter, Ilya, The Chainsmokers
For nearly a quarter-century, Chris Martin and Coldplay have reigned as one of popular music’s most vibrantly entertaining and restlessly creative rock bands. They successfully expanded upon the inroads made by a predecessor act like U2, carving out an equally cozy and blockbuster niche, with a devoted fandom that is appreciative of their need to balance appetites for stadium tours, big hits, and obscure vanity detours. A tolerance for the latter category and the ability to manage expectations will be as crucial as ever when approaching Moon Music, the band’s tenth studio set and a deliberate sequel to 2021’s Music of the Spheres. The record takes the cosmic and subdued spacey qualities of Spheres to the next level, with an emphasis on vibe taking precedence over anything else. It’s the closest you’ll see a mainstream rock group like this come to recording a full-blown chill album, subverting high-end stadium production for moody relaxation and introspection. That’s not to say there aren’t any more accessible, hit-worthy moments to be found. The “Good Feelings” collaboration with Ayra Starr is an utter bop, while a track like “Jupiter” suggests that the band could have a promising arc as a coffeehouse-friendly, folk-pop squad at a moment’s notice. For the most part however, Martin and company spend the majority of Moon Music dabbling with hushed and slowly-oozing elements of world, classical, Afro-pop, and ambient-house soundscapes. There are moments where I feel like I’m listening to selections from those natural sound listening stations that used to populate every department store in the 90s. Now, yes this music is far more interesting than listening to a sample of “the rainforest”–those tracks never featured Maya Angelou poetry after all– and its considerably laid-back nature does not make these performance any less beautiful or exquisite. Coldplay has always implored these elements to a certain degree on each of their albums, and there’s no discounting the elegant shine that pours out of Chris Martin’s voice in these settings. To put it simply, Moon Music is not destined to become the catalog centerpiece on par with Parachutes or Viva La Vida or others. Rather, it’s best regarded as a side-project or vanity piece for the band, and a wholly beautiful and satisfying one at that, when the very precise moment calls for it.
Track Listing:
- “Moon Music” with Jon Hopkins (Coldplay, John Hopkins, John Metcalfe)
- “Feels Like I’m Falling in Love” (Coldplay, Hopkins, Max Martin, Apple Martin, Tim Rutili)
- “We Pray” with Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and Tini (Coldplay, Simbiatu Ajikawo, Shawn Carter, Elian Marjieh, Martin, Damini Ogulu, Mauricio Rengifo, Davide Rossillya Salmanzadeh, Martina Stoessel, Andres Torres)
- “Jupiter” (Coldplay, Martin, Salmanzadeh, Jacob Collier, Olivia Waithe, Moses Martin)
- “Good Feelings” with Ayra Starr (Coldplay, Oyinkansola Aderibigbe, Alex Pall, Nile Rodgers, Andrew Taggart)
- “Alien Hits/Alien Radio” (Coldplay, Devin Powers, Maya Angelou, Hopkins, Kaori Muraji, Martin)
- “IAAM” (Coldplay, Holter, Martin)
- “Aeterna” (Coldplay, Louis Cole, Green, Hopkins, Martin, Jose Velazquez)
- “All My Love” (Coldplay, Martin, Metcalfe)
- “One World” (Coldplay, Denise Carite, Brian Eno, Shaneka Hamilton, Martin, Metcalfe, Rahko)
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