The term “Music of Spheres” refers to a balance between Celestial bodies and proportions, which is ironic because the music album in its namesake was anything but well-balanced. ‘Music of the Spheres’ was a very incohesive album. Although there was some influence of alternative, indie music, which is a transition many artists including Taylor Swift have made over the last year, something about the execution felt very indecisive. It was almost as if they weren’t ready to fully commit to the change, still having a commercial, repetitive sound much like their older music.
Even though some artists have managed to successfully convert into alternative or indie music, they were only successful because they were committed to making that change. Coldplay wasn’t, and that reflected on the quality of the music.
‘Music of the Spheres’ is one of those things that work in concept but not in execution. It had very clear intentions of strangeness and a retro type of feel, but it didn’t necessarily pay off in this instance.
Although it was great to see the band trying to grow, it was still a letdown in execution. Hopefully, in the future, Coldplay will be able to grow from this and when they try again, they’ll be able to properly carry out the idea better.
Still, it is important to keep in mind that Coldplay typically does not stray far from their typical made-for-radio sound, so it was great to hear them trying something new. There were some very interesting and isolated concepts and sounds in the album, that just didn’t meld well together, creating a lack of cohesiveness that was necessary to making it work.
With some solid ideas but some mediocre execution, Coldplay’s ‘Music of The Spheres’ is meant for those who are willing to stick with a band going through a rough patch. The album gets a 5/10.
Laura Pinto Alton // Staff Writer
