Coldplay are often portrayed as a nightmare version of what Radiohead or a similar indie group might have become had they prioritised bums on seats rather than critical acclaim or “authenticity”. But 24 years since their breakthrough hit, “Yellow”, it is clear that Chris Martin and the gang have become a much stranger proposition than any of their one-time student disco peers. In fact, they’re one of the weirdest stadium rock acts ever.
Their quirky streak has been on display on the band’s ongoing Music of the Spheres tour, which brims with singing puppets and dancing aliens – and ends with the audience putting on 3D glasses (it’s a rock concert – isn’t it 3D already?). It is also front and centre of Moon Music, their often charming and occasionally batty tenth album.
The record lays its card out at the very start. The first voice we hear is (apparently) that of “Angel Moon”, the supposedly endearing but actually pretty creepy Jim Henson puppet created for an earlier Coldplay video, which has become a fixture in live shows. “Mooooon musiccccc,” she coos, sounding like a surreal version of Zippy from Rainbow (if Zippy from Rainbow was out to possess your soul).
Moon Music gets progressively stranger from there. It’s never to the point of sacrificing catchiness or obscuring Martin’s big choruses, but it’s a distinctly odd listen. Track six doesn’t have a title – it’s represented by a rainbow. The bopping “Aeterna” starts with what sounds like someone humming through a comb before segueing into a yammering euro-groove – Martin’s flotation tank morphing into an Ibiza nightclub. The record closes with quasi-instrumental piece “One World”, much of which consists of birdsong, ethereal violins and samples of audience members humming along at Coldplay gigs. It’s bonkers.
Do these choices work? On the whole, yes – it’s hard to resist Moon Music’s blend of fluffy electronica, themes of universal love and the occasional squawking alien. That said, fans of the “Yellow” era, Chris Martin-crying-on-the-beach Coldplay vintage may be overwhelmed by the frothiness of it all. Moon Music seems to be aimed at those who began to pay attention as Coldplay segued from purveyors of indie beige to feel-good pop lunatics circa 2011’s Mylo Xyloto.
Nobody could accuse Coldplay of being risk averse. Moon Music features production from big-time hitmaker Max Martin, but the fizz-fuelled single “Feels Like I’m Falling in Love” – styled as “feelslikeimfallinginlove” – was co-written by avant-grade electronica guru Jon Hopkins. A Britney Spears collaborator one moment, a composer of left-field meditation soundtracks the next – whatever the vibe, Coldplay have it covered.
Genre-busting bopper “We Pray” likewise confirms that they are making the best possible use of their contacts book. Here, Martin gives the floor to Mercury Prize-winner Little Simz, Afrobeats megastar Burna Boy, Argentina singer Tini and Palestinian-Chilean musician Elyanna to thrilling effect. Martin pops back for the chorus, but the energy of the song stems from his collaborators.
Internet gossip has it that Coldplay received a £35m advance for Moon Music. It’s hard to square that with the album’s implicit message that hugs are worth more than money. But whatever it took to get it over the line, it’s thrilling to see Coldplay continue to push forward – and confirm their standing as the great pop weirdos of our time.
Stream: “feellikeimfallinginlove”, “We Pray”
