On one end of the spectrum of sound we have the venerable Coldplay that just dropped their new album "Mylo Xyloto" two days ago. This EP certainly paints the picture, though through untapped genres for the band: pop, R&B and electronica. The club beats and jittery synth suggest as much; the Rihanna cameo cements it. The following is a track-by-track breakdown of the release:
1. Mylo Xyloto - 43-second childlike xylophone intro bleep-bloops right into "Hurts Like Heaven" as if it's part of the track.
2. Hurts Like Heaven - Coldplay pulls off atmospheric anthem in a way that makes it seem too easy. Toe-tapping beat meets spazzy guitar solo. Perfect opening track.
3. Paradise - Second single "Paradise" has it all: sweeping strings, dope beats, plenty of falsetto, plus singalongs and hand claps recorded right into it. Cluttered? Surprisingly, no. Just succumb to it and sway along.
4. Charlie Brown - Third massive anthem in a row and album's best track. Chorus riff will haunt every corner of your mind. Oriental flair recalls "Viva La Vida" album.
5. Us Against The World - Mellowing out with acoustic ballad, finally feeling that this album is about battling dystopia with love. "Through chaos as it swirls, it's us against the world.
6. M.M.I.X. - Tension-filled electronic interlude provides quiet build-up to "Every Teardrop."
7. Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall - Trying hard to rally rebellious youth: "I turn the music up, I got my records on/I shut the world outside until the lights come on." Cheesy? Just slightly, but the beats are top-notch.
8. Major Minus - Numerous eras of Radiohead summoned all at once. Feels like the angrier parts of "Rush Of Blood to the Head" album revisited. Plus an actual guitar solo!
9. U.F.O. - Chris Martin's not only reflecting on his life, he's looking for guidance from above. Pairing of strings and acoustic guitar are a fitting accompaniment to his introspection.
10. Princess Of China (feat. Rihanna) - "Yellow" seems like a faint memory with this epic electro breakup track. Forgive RiRi's mixed metaphors: "I could've been a princess, you'd be a king/Could've had a castle on a ring."
11. Up In Flames - Sad R&B beat that could have been pulled from Kanye's "808s & Heartbreak." Combined with sparse piano and repetitive lyrics, it's the album's low point.
12. A Hopeful Transmission - Final instrumental transition on "Mylo Xyloto," as well as the one that stands the most on its own. Subtle calypso beat under crescendoeing strings.
12. A Hopeful Transmission - Final instrumental transition on "Mylo Xyloto," as well as the one that stands the most on its own. Subtle calypso beat under crescendoeing strings.
13. Don't Let It Break Your Heart - Classic Coldplay: huge-sounding and hugely hopeful pop-rock song, though slightly unmemorable. You can just feel the inevitable happy ending.
14. Up With The Birds - Going out with a bang is not necessary with you started with three of them. Instead, Coldplay borrows lines from Leonard Cohen's "Anthem" and channels Radiohead, again.
And on the complete other end of the spectrum of sound is Five Finger Death Punch. Some haters and concerned fans have been talking about a little bit of success dulling the edge of this hard rock quintet. Well haters gonna hate, gators gonna gate, painters gonna paint, and Five Finger Death Punch will continue to cut through everyone's ear drums with a sound that is sharpened to a surgical grade edge. The newest album release entitled "American Capitalist" is an 11 track rage-fest that is sure to please fans of metal and rock. The rage gives American Capitalist a fierce potency. It offers defiant mosh pit anthems like the title track, "The Pride" and "Back for More"; middle-finger-throwing kiss-offs like "Wicked Ways"; and the nihilistic call to arms "Generation Dead." Five Finger Death Punch even enters power ballad territory on the family-dissing "Remember Everything" and "Coming Down." Those give the album, and the Death Punch gang, a left-right combo that's absolutely lethal.
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