Coldplay, a British alternative rock band from the 2000’s, released their 9th studio album, “Music of the Spheres” on Oct. 15, 2021, continuing their string of heinous music that has been issued by the band for the past 16 years.

Coldplay first emerged into the music industry in 2000, and right off the bat, the band put their own twist on what the 2000s era of music sounded like, turning hip-hop rock into depressing yet upbeat alternative rock.

Listening to the melancholic piano and upbeat drums paired with Chris Martin’s raspy yet clean voice of the age of “Parachutes” and “A Rush of Blood to the Head,” the band’s first two albums, is what I and many fans alike identified Coldplay’s ‘sound’ to be. 

The first three albums of the band established their unique sound, becoming an icon in the ever growing 2000s era of music as they were separated from the rest by their untouchable hits, such as “Yellow,” “Sparks,” and “The Scientist.”

Ever since the band’s third studio album, “X&Y,” circa 2005, the band has drifted from their ability to reinvigorate the current trends in music. Every album since has been a swing and a miss, only producing a handful of listenable songs.

“Music of the Spheres” was no different. 

It was evident from the start of the album that the band was trying to enter the more modern version of pop, straying away from their knowledge in rock, whilst dabbling in the electric genre and attempting to establish a serene feeling.

This was an ultimate disaster. 

The album started with “🪐,” 53 seconds of tranquil notes that sounded like something pulled from a documentary on space you were forced to watch in the 4th grade.

In all honesty, it gave me high hopes that the band would be able to accomplish a calming album with a cloudless feeling, especially after the state the world has been in for the past few years.

Yet, the band was unable to stick to this feeling throughout the entirety of the album as they adopted rock, electric, and pop-like tones, ruining the vibe that was first established.

The only songs that could be considered listenable are “❤️” and “People of the Pride.”

“❤️” is the first and only time the band is able to successfully capture the serene and calming feeling that the album was initially going for, and this was primarily due to the added vocals of We Are KING and Jacob Collier.

“People of the Pride” was by far the best track off of the album as it reverted back to their rock-like roots. Paired with the aggressive bass and drums, and the iconic yet complex lyrics showing support for the LGBTQ+ community, it is the perfect song to scream-sing out the windows while driving down the highway.

Excluding these two tracks, the rest of the album is appalling.

The collaboration with Selena Gomez, “Let Somebody Go” seemed like a nice idea, as both are very talented and successful artists, but was executed horrifically.

Gomez’s smooth and angelic voice and Martin’s raspy, unique voice struggle to harmonize throughout the song, especially on top of the quiet and pacific notes.

It is hard to appreciate the beauty of the lyrics, a conveyance of the struggles of adapting to life without your beloved, while trying to comprehend the multitude of sounds that are struggling to mix. 

“Biutyful,” the eighth track, was easily the worst song of the album.

It is evident that amongst the title and the interesting beats, the band is trying hard at creating something different, fully adopting the genre of electronic music.

The quirky and funky beat established is simply off-putting, painful to the ears, and Martin’s vocals made no improvement whatsoever. 

Although the band was once successful in making their own path in the trend of music, it is evident that the band is trying too hard now as they are struggling with straying away from their rock based roots.

The use of scythe-like beats and electronic tunes, along with the use of emoticons as song titles, demonstrates their longing desire to emerge back into being ‘hip’ and ‘trend,’ when in reality, these 40-year-olds’ time has passed. 

So please, Coldplay. After another release of an abysmal album, please just go back to the 2000’s.