Rating: 6/10
In their tenth studio release “Moon Music,” Coldplay’s infectious joy and positivity shine through an otherwise repetitive album.
In an interview with BBC Radio detailing the production of the album, frontman and songwriter Chris Martin hinted toward it being their last after 25 years of music.
“Maybe we’ll do some collaborative things but the Coldplay catalog, as it were, finishes then,” Martin said.
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This comes after an overwhelmingly successful career for the band, which included seven Grammys and each of their nine previous albums going platinum at least once.
“Moon Music” is a mental health journey, as Martin has been an advocate for mental health and has gone into detail about his own struggles.
“‘Moon Music’ is kind of the story of waking up in the morning and feeling terrible about yourself,” Martin said in an interview with NME. “Through the album, it’s a journey to feeling the complete opposite at the end of the day.”
In addition to the positive themes, “Moon Music” continues with the galactic and otherworldly aesthetic that was displayed in Coldplay’s last release, “Music Of The Spheres.”
This is where the album begins to fall flat, as some parts feel like Coldplay coming up short of recapturing their iconic moments during the 2000s.
The first two songs, “MOON MUSiC” and “feelslikeimfallinginlove,” are heavily reverbed and ethereal, with the title track having nearly three minutes of an instrumental piano and synthesizer duet.
The latter song, unveiled in June, was the first single released for the album. It’s a slow song with a catchy chorus that fits right in with their hits during their sold-out arena shows.
After this is “WE PRAY,” the album’s next single, released in August. This is a standout track as it offers an unfamiliar sound from Coldplay and an exciting feature from breakout rapper Little Simz, as well as Burna Boy, Elyanna and TINI.
The female British rapper takes over with a captivating verse over a simple drum beat and orchestra instrumentation.
Another standout from the album is “GOOD FEELiNGS,” the only other song that does not have this intergalactic vibe. The song instead plays as an upbeat dance track with a groovy bassline and driving percussion.
There is also a quality feature from Arya Starr which perfectly compliments Martin’s vocals.
After three strikingly similar songs is a beautiful ballad titled “ALL MY LOVE.” This is a powerful song walking the listener through a resilient love story.
This song hits even harder when given context of its live debut. During the final song of a show in Greece, Coldplay’s normal set was interrupted when a man draped in the flag of Israel attempted to climb on stage.
This attempt failed; He brought down a section of the sound system, and he was escorted out of the venue. During this, Martin stopped the show and attended to the man.
After the incident, he sat back down at the piano and burst out a solo rendition of an unreleased “ALL MY LOVE,” a testament to unwavering faith and love.
The album finishes with “ONE WORLD,” a continuation of the message and sound of the previous song. It’s another unifying song and ends the Coldplay discography on a positive note.
While the album’s monotony at certain moments creates long lulls, “Moon Music” is a reflection of the strength and positivity that Coldplay’s music has brought for the past quarter century.
