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Chris Martin pours the sugar over it

Posted on by Kennedy
Chris Martin pours the sugar over it

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Coldplay has always been full of seriousness, and that desire to embrace the world has only intensified as singer Chris Martin and his like-minded bandmates push deeper into middle age.

“Moon Music”, the band's 10thTh The studio album, out Friday, is lush, dreamy and ethereal and has all the words you'd expect to describe Coldplay's music.

It's also thoughtful and sweet — very, very sweet — as Martin, 47, drops love bombs on almost every track (he's been linked to Dakota Johnson since 2017). That is, when he's not reciting a poignant piano melody and reflecting on life in simple but powerful words.

“Maybe I'm just crazy/I should be a brick in the wall/Sitting and watching TV and blaming everyone else/But I'm trying to trust in the sky/And I'm trying to trust a world full of love,” he sings on the title track that opens the album.

Martin and his bandmates Jonny Buckland (guitar), Will Champion (drums) and Guy Berryman (bass) paint their pensive state over soaring choruses (“Feels Like I'm Falling in Love”) and mesmerizing combinations of strings and syncopated beats (” We Pray” with a welcome contribution from British rapper Little Simz).

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Coldplay rages through a sound wonderland

At times it feels like the album is about to segue into “Music for Planetariums,” particularly the six-minute, mostly instrumental “Alien Hits/Alien Radio.” But stick with it. The vocalization-filled, tempo-changing track features dialogue from Maya Angelou about being a rainbow in someone's cloud, and suddenly this remarkable musical excursion makes sense.

The backbone of “Moon Music” rests on mega-producer Max Martin — known for his pop genius on songs by artists ranging from Britney Spears to Taylor Swift to The Weeknd — who also helmed the band’s 2021 album “Music of the.” Bullets.”

Here he finds himself in a sonic wonderland as he paces with the band through EDM (“Aeterna”) and shimmering pop (“Good Feelings,” which features the kind of synthesized funk popularized by The 1975).

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These are the two best songs on “Moon Music”

But two of the best titles are in familiar territory.

“IAAM” deals with feelings and also builds into one of those Coldplay specialties with numerous crescendos, crashing cymbals and a singing guitar line driving the entire melodic outburst.

“I'm really sorry for some things I said along the way. I really love you, I just didn’t like myself that day,” Martin explains with apologetic tenderness.

But the band unleashes a lot of warmth and affection with the ballad “All My Love.” It's the song Martin recently sang incognito in a Las Vegas bar that could help him eclipse Ed Sheeran as the king of wedding songs.

Against a beautiful piano backdrop, Martin hits his falsetto and sings, “You’ve got all my love/Whether it rains or pours, I’m all yours.”

Then the strings and acoustic guitar come in in the second verse to give it more texture as he continues, “And until I die/Let me hold you when you cry/Be my one, two, three forever.”

Martin may not be the most talkative guy, but he gets his point across effectively and lovingly.

So is “Moon Music” revolutionary? No. But there's nothing wrong with consistent quality and Coldplay continues to be a reliable provider.

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