Transmitting their stadium-sized pop anthems across an imaginary solar system,
Coldplay
go intergalactic with their shimmering ninth set,
Music of the Spheres
. Expanding upon the band's question of "What would our music sound like across the universe?" they created a world filled with alien outcasts, invented languages, and fictional planets, freeing themselves from the bounds of earthly genre restrictions in the process. Their most unabashedly pop-centric and optimistic album to date, this sci-fi concept piece is the spiritual successor to technicolor predecessors
Mylo Xyloto
and
A Head Full of Dreams
-- outpacing both with its sharp focus and lean runtime -- while maintaining the boundary-pushing energy heard on the
Kaleidoscope
EP and
Everyday Life
. With the help of super producer
Max Martin
-- who previously worked with the band on 2019 singles "Orphans" and "Champion of the World" -- the quartet sound more cohesive than they've been in years, benefitting from a single producer's vision in a similar fashion to what
Brian Eno
pulled off with
Viva La Vida
. On this colorful journey through space,
Chris Martin
,
Guy Berryman
Jonny Buckland
, and
Will Champion
rocket from planet to planet, spreading hope and love with blissful pop bursts such as the propulsive, '80s synth rush "Higher Power"; the inspirational
Springsteen
-via-the-
Killers
"Humankind"; and the blockbuster dancefloor collaboration with K-pop kings
BTS
, "My Universe," where superfan
V
and his groupmates
Jungkook
RM
Jimin
Jin
j-hope
SUGA
take turns trading lovelorn verses aimed at mending hearts across the galaxy. On the softer side,
Spheres
' "Fix You"/"Scientist" moment comes with the tearjerker "Let Somebody Go," a midtempo duet with
Selena Gomez
that's so sad it could have been on
Ghost Stories
. Next, on "Human Heart," R&B sister duo
We Are KING
and boy wonder
Jacob Collier
join
Martin
for a beautiful hymnal that swells upon the strength of their combined voices. Although this is one of those albums where every song could be a potential single, two moments stand out from the rest of
's catalog. A shock to the system, "People of the Pride" mashes
Muse
's "Uprising" and
Depeche Mode
's "Personal Jesus" into a rallying cry for the ages, a rousing blast that repurposes the
Viva
-era demo "The Man Who Swears" into a show-stopping thriller that allows the quartet to flex their rock muscle. Meanwhile, the closing ten-minute epic "Coloratura" transcends all, taking listeners on a sprawling prog journey centered on
's dramatic piano, strings courtesy of
John Metcalfe
Davide Rossi
Paris Strother
's synths, and a soaring
Buckland
guitar solo. While they typically end their albums on a grand, uplifting note, this takes the prize for ambition and sheer beauty. As
proclaims, "Together, that's how we'll make it through," one might really believe we have the power to make our world (and those beyond) a more accepting and united place.
is an earnest reminder that there's good in this galaxy, offering hope and refuge from the chaos with
leading the way. ~ Neil Z. Yeung