Happy Friday, mes amis, and happy new release day for Coldplay! Their new album, Moon Music, releases today, and I’m looking forward to listening to it for the first time. The new Imagine Dragons album that came out earlier this year was… not what I was hoping for, but Coldplay’s single “feelslikeimfallinginlove” is one of my favorite songs from them right now, so I have high hopes for the rest of the album. Hope you enjoy my first impressions!
“MOON MUSIC” – with Jon Hopkins
The first song on the new Coldplay album has the same title as the album itself, “Moon Music.” I love the slow and soft beginning, with mostly ambient electronic and string sounds. And then the piano hits! Chills!! I love the piano line paired with main singer guy’s rich, velvety vocals. So nice, just what we hope for, sounds like classic Coldplay.
Once upon a time, I tried to get myself together
Be more like the sky and welcome every kind of weather
Be more eagle like and find the flight in every feather
Once upon a time, but I'm still trying to get better
- "MOON MUSiC"
And then the lyrics of this already beautiful song are just so deep, and so thoughtful, and just yes… and the transition to the next one! Flawless ✨
“feelslikeimfallinginlove”
This song was already one of my new favorites before the album came out, and it’s still my favorite new Coldplay song. I just love the layers, the electronic notes, and the lyrics are so sweet. Overall, it’s a very optimistic song, which I think is part of why I like it so much. It also reminds me of Owl City’s best work so, you know 😆
It feels like I'm falling in love
Maybe for the first time, oh, now for the first time
I know I'm not alone...
-"feelslikeimfallinginlove"
“WE PRAY (album version)” – with Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna & TINI
I’mma be honest, I prefer the single version of this song. The album version is good, and it’s always fun when artists collaborate; I just like the smoother version in this case. That said, the lyrics of “WE PRAY” are also super thought provoking and reference real-world issues.
And so we pray
For someone to come and show me the way
And so we pray
For some shelter and some records to play
And so we pray
We'll be singin' "Baraye"
Pray that we make it to the end of the day
And so we pray
-"WE PRAY"
The link above is the Genius lyrics site with better commentary than I could give myself; I’d just be quoting them anyway : ).
“JUPiTER”
I have… mixed feelings about this song. On the one hand, the music is wonderful, and I found that it was getting stuck in my head multiple times throughout the day. On the other hand, and I’m not going to go super deep into it, but I… disagree with some of the lyrics. Let’s just say that I don’t believe that the Bible says “follow your heart,” so while I understand that this is a secular album and it’s all good for Coldplay to make songs that express their perspective on things, this song won’t be on any of my long-term playlists. But the guitar is super nice!
GOOD FEELiNGS” – with Arya Starr
This one is your standard modern pop song. A good beat, decent instrumentals, and catchy melody. It’s literally all about “good feelings,” which means the lyrics don’t have a lot of meat or meaning to them, but not all songs need to have that. It’s just a nice, fluffy, sweet song, like eating cotton candy.
“🌈(ALiEN HiTS/ALiEN RADiO)”
I really love this one, it’s another very chill, classic Coldplay style song. I love the piano line with the soft drums and ambient vocals, and then letting the Maya Angelou quote be kind of the focal point of the song–well done, Coldplay.
Actually, if you can decipher the ambient vocals (I had to look it up lol), they’re pretty nice too:
Storms pass, love lasts...
(Maya Angelou)
When it looked like the sun wouldn't shine anymore
God put a rainbow in the clouds...
And I've had so many rainbows in my clouds
I had a lot of clouds, but I have had so many rainbows...
-"🌈"
“iAAM”
I really enjoy this song, especially after the softer and slower song before it. It’s another classic Coldplay style song, but this time it’s the Rousing Pop Anthem style, and it’s awesome! Another piano line driving the momentum, but this time it has a stronger drum line to go with it. And it’s another optimistic and uplifting song, both in the lyrics and in the music, and I really enjoy listening to it.
Stood on a sea of pain
Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain
I'll be back on my feet again
'Cause I am a mountain
-"iAAM"
“AETERNA”
This song almost has a dubstep feel to it which is an interesting thing to me. I like the use of electronic elements and the texture of the song overall. It almost sounds eighties-inspired, but with a uniquely modern feel to it as well. Another classic Fluffy Pop Song that’s basically there as ear candy, not really a lot to it in terms of deeper meaning. But fun to listen to! Also they added the Zulu words for “I love you” to the end (at least, that’s what Genius says it means), which was a nice touch : ).
“ALL MY LOVE”
I LOVE this song, and it’s going on my wedding playlist (because I have one of those now!! *squeals*) if it isn’t there already. This is one of the wholesome, faithful-agape-love songs that are just so wonderful to me. And there are some light electronic elements that they’ve added to the mix that make it uniquely Coldplay which is so nice, in there with some strings and piano and everything else. Like I said, it’s a bit of a tear-jerker. They really know what they’re doing here 🥹
You got all my love
Whether it rains or pours, I'm all yours
You've got all my love
Whether it rains, it remains
You've got all my love
"ALL MY LOVE"
“ONE WORLD”
The last song of the Moon Music album, and it starts with some birdsong sound effects! I love that, it’s very chill and also a mild callback to the previous Coldplay album, Head Full of Dreams, which I believe features nature sounds in a couple different tracks. That being said, this song is a nice round-off of the album, with lots of ambient sounds and some soft, simple vocals.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the new Coldplay album Moon Music is wonderful overall, exactly what I was hoping for. It’s kinda like the newest Owl City album, Coco Moon, that came out in 2023: just enough of the classic style to know that it’s Coldplay, but also a fresh new style. Super nice, and quite a few of the songs have the deeper, sweet-wholesome-faithful-agape-love feel that I absolutely adore.
Have you listened to Moon Music yet? What did you think? I’d love to know!
Happy fangirling!
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