COLDPLAY MOON MUSIC
What’s the Story?
Moon Music (full title Music of the Spheres Vol. II: Moon Music) is the 10th studio album by British rock band Coldplay. Asked about the meaning behind the title, frontman Chris Martin stated: “Moon Music is kind of the story of waking up in the morning and feeling terrible about yourself, terrible about the world – depressed, isolated, separate, alone and not able to be yourself. Through the album, it’s a journey to feeling the complete opposite at the end of the day.”
Worth a Listen?
Moon Music is as exploratory and spacey as the title suggests and drifts further into the unexplored depths of the galaxy, catching signals of songs here and there. The opening title track, for example, is an introspective confessional that finds Chris Martin in search of something (and someone) more. Ultimately, the less immediate standouts provide the interesting bits of Moon Music that should stand the test of time. WE PRAY is a culmination of that globally unifying energy, a call to action that recruits English rapper Little Simz, Nigerian superstar Burna Boy, Argentine entertainer Tini and Palestinian Chilean singer/songwriter Elyanna on an urgent plea that blends dramatic strings and an aggressive hip-hop beat.
Lady Gaga - Harlequin
Harlequin is a breath of fresh air in Lady Gaga’s catalogue, unhindered by the expectations of a typical pop album and perhaps the multifaceted artist at her most free. Tapping into her theatrical side, this companion piece to the Joker: Folie à Deux film (and not the other, actual official soundtrack) blurs the line between the persona (Harley Quinn) and the person (Gaga). Take this as the debut album from the character of Harley Quinn, as played by Lady Gaga. Putting on that mask, she’s free to step outside of the mainline Gaga album trajectory and get playful. In the role of Lee, an in-character Gaga is allowed to say the quiet parts of her own experiences out loud (more so than she allows herself on her proper albums), and it’s wonderfully liberating to hear her express these feelings with a wink and a smile. Top to bottom, this is a coveted no-skips effort.
Snow Patrol - The Forest is the Path
Reigniting their tender, earnest brand of early-2000s indie rock, Snow Patrol returned after a six-year gap with their eighth album, The Forest Is the Path. The set retains all of the Scottish band’s typical hallmarks: faint piano twinkles, atmospheric guitars, patient, midtempo beats, and Gary Lightbody’s wounded vocals and vulnerable lyrics about love and time.
Katy Perry - 143
Though at a certain time she was incontestable pop royalty, Katy Perry’s creative vision (and relevance) have been in steady decline since sometime around 2015. With her seventh album 143, Perry’s once world-dominating winning streak is definitely over, with her learning nothing from past missteps. Perry wanders even further off the path with the lifeless, floundering reaches that make up 143. Kicking things off with the hollow, generic preset disco production of lead single Women’s World, 143 begins with an anthem that sounds wholly unsure of itself. The album rings the death knell for Perry for no other reason than it commits pop music’s ultimate sin: it’s boring.
