Coldplay: Mylo Xyloto

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The members of Coldplay often seem too aware that they’re considered about as hip as the “house band at the Gap,” said Allison Stewart in The Washington Post. But even with a Rihanna cameo and an edgier synth sound, Chris Martin and company won’t shake that image with their latest album. In characteristic Coldplay style, it’s “sometimes dull but is mostly just fine.” Producer Brian Eno, who in the past worked magic with U2 and Talking Heads, was given a bigger hand here than he’s had on past Coldplay discs, to no great effect. Eno actually co-wrote every song, and “his presence can be felt in the details, the way songs evoke paintings, with their depth of field and subtle blends of color,” said Greg Kot in the Chicago Tribune. “But Coldplay has a formula, and formula prevails,” which means more catchy anthems and sentimental ballads. The formula likely ensures that Mylo Xyloto will yield “hits and considerable commercial radio airplay.” In the end, “innovation isn’t really the point.”

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