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Coldplay have finally delivered their highly anticipated full-length studio album, Moon Music, to streaming platforms today, October 4, under an exclusive license to Parlophone Records Limited.
The project is filled with spacy transitions and transient vocal performances, fueled by an enticing cosmic production. Marking the band's 10th studio album, Moon Music was first announced during an interview with CityNews, over a year ago.
During the exclusive, Coldplay's lead vocalist Chris Martin confirmed that the band's upcoming album will officially follow up on their 2021 LP Music Of The Spheres.
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The album's artwork is an incredible image portraying the rare optical phenomenon of a rainbow shining through an iridescent cloud, with the light from a crescent-shaped moon beside it being diffracted. The photograph was captured by Argentine photographer Matias Alonso Revelli.
Continuing with the band's "longstanding eco-ethics" tradition, the physical copies of Moon Music are reportedly manufactured using recycled PET-plastic bottles recovered from post-consumer waste.
Coldplay is currently on-road in Australia for their Music Of The Spheres World Tour, with major stops set for New Zealand, Abu Dhabi, India, and The United Kingdom.
A Track-by-Track review of Coldplay's 10th studio album Moon Mus ic
Coldplay's Moon Music takes listeners on an intergalactic journey with a 10-record LP, drawing listeners into the LP's metaphorical thematics. Max Martin's contribution to the project is exceptionally showcased, with the producer blending cosmic ambient elements into the album's production.
Coldplay's latest project has a complete runtime of 44 minutes and features guest appearances from artists like Jon Hopkins, Lil Simz, Burna Boy, Ayra Starr, and more. Notable themes Moon Music appears to dive deeper into include:
- Love
- Relationships
- Pain
- Struggle
- Successḍṭ
- Truth
- Self-Identity
- Pride
- Togetherness
- Growth
- Maturity
Disclaimer: This review is rated explicit. Reader discretion is advised.
MOON MUSIC (Feat. Jon Hopkins)
(Production Credits: Jon Hopkins, Max Martin, Daniel Green, and Bill Rahko)
Listeners are introduced to Coldplay's 10th studio album with a self-titled introductory track, fueled by soft-ambient music and transient keystrokes.
Almost three minutes into the track, Chris Martin opens on MOON MUSIC conveying a journey of personal struggle and self-improvement. The lyricism finds the singer reflecting on life's unpredictable nature, wishing to hold onto his belief in something greater.
"Maybe I'm just crazy, I should just be a brick in the wall / Sit and watch the TV, blame everyone else for it all / But I'm trying to trust in the heavens above / And I'm trying to trust in a world full of love / Fire and water and constantly dream / Of the balance of things and the music between" - Chris Martin sings on 'MOON MUSIC'
feelslikeimfallinginlove
(Production Credits: Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Bill Rahko, Daniel Green, and Michael Ilbert)
With an interesting transition, Coldplay reintroduce the project's lead single, feelslikeimfallinginlove, which was delivered to streaming platforms back in June.
The track is a commercial pop song fueled by anthemic vocal performances and captivating drum progressions, with Chris Martin centering the record around themes of love, relationships, growth, and change, best evidenced by the song's hook:
"Oh, it feels like / I'm fallin' in love / Maybe for the first time / Baby, it's my mind you blow / It feels like / I'm fallin' in love / You're throwin' me a lifeline / This is for a lifetime, I know"
WE PRAY (Feat. Lil Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna, and TINI)
(Production Credits: Max Martin, Daniel Green, Bill Rahko, Michael Ilbert, and ILYA)
Coldplay then delivers a massive collaboration with Lil Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna, and TINI, on the album's third track. Each artist creatively bands together, performing a highly anthemic record titled WE PRAY.
Chris and Simz deliver two dedicated verses on the track, with Burna Boy, Elyanna, and TINI, providing supporting vocal performances on the record's bridge, chorus, and outro. Notable lines from WE PRAY include bars from Lil Simz's verse, where the rapper delivers bars like:
"So for the ones who parted seas (Ah, yeah) / For the ones who's followin' dreams (Ah, yeah) / For the ones who knocked down doors (Ah, yeah) / And allowed us to pass down keys (Ah, yeah) / Pray that we speak with a tongue that is honest / And that we understand how to be modest"
JUPiTER
(Production Credits: Max Martin, Daniel Green, Bill Rahko, Michael Ilbert, and ILYA)
Opening on the fourth track, Chris Martin delivers an acoustically charged love song that compares the planet Jupiter to a woman struggling with her identity.
The shifting production on JUPiTER significantly helps close the song out on a more ambient note. Notable themes this record revolves around include love, honesty, and joy, as evidenced by lines like:
"Jupiter, named for a planet, would pretend to be / Somebody way less extraordinary / Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with me / Am I bad? Am I wrong? Am I weird in the head? / The only one awake, and everyone's in bed / Still she followed the river where the river led / Right up to heaven where the billboard read"
GOOD FEELiNGS (Feat. Ayra Starr)
(Production Credits: Max Martin, Bill Rahko, Daniel Green, Oscar Holter, Michael Ilbert, and The Chainsmokers)
Transitioning into sounds of children playing in the distance, Moon Music introduces listeners to an electro-pop record titled GOOD FEELiNGS. The production of this song was led by Max Martin and credited to a team of producers, including The Chainsmokers.
The record finds Chris Martin teaming up with upcoming Nigerian singer-songwriter Ayra Starr, with both artists delivering empowering lyrics revolving around themes of lost memories, change, and maturity.
"We fell in love in the summer / I remember, baby, we saw the sun shine too / And we were born for each other / Just remember, baby, whatever we go through / All the good feelings for one another / As we danced to the radio / All the good, good feelings we have for each other" - Chris Martin sings on 'GOOD FEELiNGS'
🌈
(Production Credits: Max Martin, Jon Hopkins, Daniel Green, Bill Rahko, and Michael Ilbert)
Coldplay then delivers a record that interestingly uses the rainbow emoji "🌈" as its official title on streaming platforms. The track clocks in at a little over six minutes, with a production that is seemingly divided into three distinct sections.
The band's manager, Phil Harvey, reportedly confirmed that the record's unofficial title is ALiEN HiTS/ALiEN RADiO, during a discord Q/A session held back in August.
Chris Martin and Will Champion both deliver ambient vocal performances on Part 1 and Part 3 of ALiEN HiTS/ALiEN RADiO, respectively. Maya Angelou closes out the record with a nostalgic outro which states:
"There is an African American song, 19th century / Which, um, is so pretty, it said / When it looked like the sun wasn't gonna shine anymore / God put a rainbow in the clouds / God put a rainbow in the clouds / And I've had so many rainbows in my clouds / I had a lot of clouds, but I have had so many rainbows"
iAAM
(Production Credits: Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Daniel Green, Bill Rahko, and Michael Ilbert)
On track 7, Coldplay delivers a "warmhearted bombast" with a record titled iAAM, fueled by its empowering production and lyricism.
At several moments during the record, Chris Martin manages to effectively induce emotions of perseverance, resilience, and personal achievement, amongst the listeners through his powerful vocal performances.
"I got this feeling and now nothing is frightening / I got this feeling I can summon up lightning / I got this feeling and just what it is, God only knows / But here it goes / Stood on a sea of pain / Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain / I'll be back on my feet again / 'Cause I am a mountain"
AETERNA
(Production Credits: Max Martin, Jon Hopkins, Bill Rahko, Daniel Green, and Michael Ilbert)
Listeners are once again drawn into the percussive ethereality of Moon Music with a record titled AETERNA, a Latin word that translates to "Eternal or Everlasting."
Although the lyricism on this track appears to revolve around similar themes as previous records like iAAM and GOOD FEELiNGS, the hook on AETERNA stands out for being highly catchy and well performed.
"This must be bliss / Must be for this I exist / 'Cause I always, I always / I always want to feel like this / Oh, this must be bliss / This extraordinariness / And I always, I always / I always want to feel like this" - Chris Martin's hook on 'AETERNA'
ALL MY LOVE
(Production Credits: Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Daniel Green, Bill Rahko, Michael Ilbert, and ILYA)
Chris Martin displays extremely strong lyricism on the record titled ALL MY LOVE, whose soft acoustic instrumental perfectly sets the stage for Coldplay to delve into themes of love, pain, relationships, and maturity.
The song opens with Chris recounting a relationship whose journey was filled with both, troubling and positive experiences, with the singer highlighting the massive endurance his partner and he shares.
"We've been through low / Been through sunshine, been through snow / All the colours of the weather / We've been through high / Every corner of the sky / And still we're holding on together" - Chris Martin sings on 'ALL MY LOVE'
ONE WORLD
(Production Credits: Max Martin, Bill Rahko, Daniel Green, and Michael Ilbert)
The final track delivered on Coldplay's Moon Music is a record titled ONE WORLD, which, like ALiEN HiTS/ALiEN RADiO, is divided into separate sections given the song's almost seven-minute long runtime.
The ethereal production on ONE WORLD perfectly closes out the band's 10th studio album, drawing listeners into the nostalgic, acoustic-fueled, sounds of tranquility and peace.
"Oh, one world / Only one world / Oh, one world / Only one world" - Chris Martin repeats on 'ONE WORLD'
Although several critics have described Coldplay's latest outing as a "banal" display of doggerel lyricism and stadium-ready records, the skillfully executed production and powerful vocal performances cannot be understated.
The perfect display of space-themed sonic elements throughout Moon Music's runtime does a lot to invite listeners onto a journey revolving around love and growth, with an emphasis on being true to one's self.
