For the fair-weather fans of the band’s notorious acoustic sound, Coldplay’s fifth studio album Mylo Xyloto released on October 24, 2011 may be written off as a disappointment. True fans, however, will appreciate its depth and innovation.  Straying slightly from the standard of mellowness established by prior albums, Mylo Xyloto incorporates faster-paced songs with more upbeat rhythms while maintaining lyrics just as poignant.  Coldplay, recently celebrating the two-decade milestone, isn’t showing any wrinkles as they sustain and even surpass their “A-game” with Mylo Xyloto.

“Paradise” and “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall” were released as singles earlier this year.  Standing as examples of the band’s new “pop” style, these tracks have achieved overwhelming success as they continually appear on iTunes’ list of top 100 downloads.

One of the catchiest new tracks, “Princess of China” features Rihanna. This mainstream ploy is bittersweet; it will likely result in the loss of a majority of their Indie fans, but it will also attract a new, younger generation of Coldplay-lovers.

For those who cling to the conventional sounds of Coldplay, “Us Against the World” and “Up in Flames” are more characteristic of their previous albums like X&Y, and Parachutes.  

Lead singer Chris Martin has hinted at the possibility that this is Coldplay’s final project.  Hopefully, this will prove to be false, because as illustrated by this album, the Coldplay era is only beginning to reach its summit. Mylo Xyloto effectively renovates Coldplay, and deserves four out of five stars.  If you haven’t already, it’s definitely worth the download.