Since the band’s debut album in 2000, Coldplay has never faltered from prominence in the alternative rock genre. Their well-received debut album Parachute still looms large in popular memory, with songs like “Sparks” and “Yellow” remaining relevant even today. I grew up listening to Coldplay on the radio with my parents. They were a favorite band of mine in elementary school, and I even saw them live with my parents in 2017. However, I personally hadn’t listened to Coldplay’s music or kept up with the band until their release of their 2024 album Moon Music.
Moon Music contains 10 tracks with 44 minutes of music. The opening track, the eponymous “Moon Music,” begins with an ethereal instrumental section. The first vocals only show up nearly 3 minutes into the song, with pleading lyrics that talk of struggling with loneliness. To me, this track serves more as an interlude that leads smoothly into the second track, “feelslikeimfallinginlove.” The song starts with a simple beat with voice following a piano melody, but the chorus swells into an overwhelming synth pop sound reminiscent of music that would play in a Target.
The follow-up, “WE PRAY,” feels similar to the 2017 Believer album by Imagine Dragons. Although I enjoyed that album at the time, Coldplay’s use of this style feels outdated for 2024. The fourth track, “JUPiTER,” displays the album’s thematic content in lyrics like “I love who I love” or “a battle for your soul.” Over this, and the following tracks, the album makes its pro-LGBTQ+ advocacy evident.
I initially found this theme surprising, but once I examined the song titles and lyrics more I saw that Coldplay was attempting to create an uplifting album to inspire struggling queer people. I find this a noble endeavor, especially in today’s polarized climate.
Despite the focus on queer advocacy, however, the synth pop and repetitive nature of the songs reminds me of Christian rock. Their approach to queer advocacy differs starkly from those of actual queer artists. For example, look at Chappell Roan’s music. She sings about her own experiences as an LGBTQ+ person and how that has shaped her life in a way that lends her music legitimate gravitas. Compared to this, Coldplay’s saccharine preaching to queer kids about optimism looks shallow. Although Moon Music operates in good faith, its execution feels patronizing.
My favorite song on Moon Music was track 9, “ALL MY LOVE,” a slow ballad with strings, piano, and lyrics that suggest a love song. This track feels mellower than the rest and reminds me of their 2000 album, Parachutes. The simplicity of the instrumental arrangement gave their older music a down-to-earth feel that I believe would draw in more queer people and play better to the band’s prior acoustic strengths.
Despite my critiques of the album, I appreciate Coldplay’s mission. In this writer’s opinion, if Coldplay wants to engage the LGBTQ+ community, they ought to feature more queer artists and change the narrative from blind optimism to something with real texture.
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