3/10
After dominating the charts throughout the 2000s with massive hits like “Viva La Vida” and “A Sky Full of Stars,” Coldplay is back with their 10th studio album, Moon Music. This new addition to the band’s discography extends the intergalactic theme of their last album, 2021’s Music of the Spheres. The experimental album is filled with orchestral melodies, heavy production, cheesy lyrics, and an excess of “lalalalas” that leaves listeners wondering if Chris Martin has run out of ideas.
The album launches with title track “MOON MUSiC.” In celestial fashion, the mostly-instrumental song features spacey, rising melodies and muffled robotic tones that transform into a piano ballad and set the stage for the album. While the orchestral piece is passionate, the song’s four minute and 37 second runtime of instrumentals quickly grows old.
The next song, “feelslikeimfallinginlove,” is at best a cash grab. The piece explores the euphoric sense of hope that accompanies falling in love, but it’s cheesy lyrics—“It feels like / I’m fallin’ in love / You’re throwing me a lifeline,”—strip the song of any emotion and leave listeners wondering how this song was written by the same band that created “Viva La Vida.”
The laughably bad third track,“WE PRAY”, firmly cements the album as subpar. The song features four additional artists—British rapper Little Simz, Nigerian singer Burna Boy, Palestinian-Chilean singer Elyanna, and Argentinian singer TINI—making it both uncomfortably overpopulated and disjointed. Little Simz’s accented rapping feels almost like a joke, as does the rest of the song. The jarring production and excessive strings diverge from the album’s echoing, orchestral tones, making it the worst track in the project.
The extraterrestrial theme continues with “Jupiter.” Intended to be an anthem of self-acceptance and empowerment, this track ultimately comes across as a regurgitation of overused self-love messaging. The chorus, “I love who I love,” is bland and unoriginal. What could have been touching acoustics are instead overpowered by generic lyrics and excessive platitudes, leaving the song every bit as forgettable as the name of every band member besides Martin.
The album’s standout is “AETERNA.” Filled with heavy synth beats, this danceable track is reminiscent of Coldplay’s biggest 2010s hits, like “Someone Just Like This” and “A Sky Full of Stars.” While still matching the electric tones present throughout the album, this upbeat party track is a welcome break from the oversaturation of boring instrumental moments.
“ALL MY LOVE” is another highlight. The soft ballad is stripped of the electric, overpowering production present on other tracks, instead conveying pure warmth. The chorus, “You’ve got all my love / Whether it rains, it remains,” is reminiscent of classic Coldplay love songs, like “Fix You” and “Sparks” and is supported by the cello and violin. While almost sickeningly sweet, the song ultimately comes across as the most heartfelt and genuine track on the album.
The album eventually crashes down with “ONE WORLD.” This quiet track features Coldplay fans from around the world, with clips of people humming at concerts and submissions to Coldplay’s website. While the concept is sweet, lead singer Martin whisper-chants the song’s singular lyric, “only one world,” to the point of exhaustion.
Despite the impressive production and mostly cohesive sound, the dominance of orchestral interludes on “Moon Music” impedes the album’s ability to explore any topics in depth. When the band does find themselves singing a fully developed song, though, it just comes across as a corny and pathetic attempt to restore their place at the top of the charts. This album fails to eclipse Coldplay’s previous hits, leaving listeners firmly grounded on Earth the whole ride.
