COLDPLAY'S LUKEWARM ELECTRO POP ENTREE

COLDPLAY'S LUKEWARM ELECTRO POP ENTREE - On their latest album, Britain's best known indie rockers boldly go in a new direction by collaborating with Rihanna, but their efforts are sunk by cliched lyrics and a pleasant but underwhelming sound.

Coldplay, one of the world's biggest indie rock groups, follow up their 2008 release, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, with Mylo Xyloto, their fifth album that further cements the band's bold shift into pop, featuring an intriguing collaboration with R&B diva Rihanna.

Mylo Xyloto opens with a Christmasy prelude, which segues nicely into Hurts Like Heaven, a somewhat erratic number where Chris Martin unabashedly sings ''Cause you use your heart like a weapon, and it hurts like heaven.'' It's an energetic dancey rock tune, but still leaves us underwhelmed.

The heart-wrenching string arrangement during the intro of the next song, Paradise, brings hope that things will be salvaged, but it turns out to be heavily cliched, with cop-out lines such as, ''When she was just a girl, she expected the world/but it flew away from her reach/so she ran away in her sleep.'' The song has US pop-rock outfit OneRepublic written all over it.

The up-tempo Charlie Brown is reminiscent of early songs by the Killers, while Us Against The World is typical of the band's acoustic ballad style, rife with biblical references: ''Oh morning come bursting, the clouds, Amen/Lift off this blindfold, let me see again/And bring back the water, let your ships roll in/In my heart she left a hole.'' Preceded by the interlude MMIX, Every Teardrop is a Waterfall best exemplifies the band's new pop direction. Jarring guitar riffs coupled with anthemic, almost chant-like, lines: ''I turn the music up, I got my records on/I shut the world outside until the lights come on/Maybe the streets alight, maybe the trees are gone/I feel my heart start beating to my favourite song.'' It's catchy, but it's far from memorable. The same could also be said for the following track, Major Minus.

Die-hard fans will swoon over slower gems like UFO, Up in Flames and Up With the Birds. The former is a tender acoustic offering where Martin quietly laments life's uncertainties. New fans, however, will fall head over heels in love with Princess of China, a successful electro pop/rock/R&B track in which Rihanna's reigning pop status is, if possible, heightened, and works more in her favour than the band's.

Unlike Viva la Vida, Mylo Xyloto sees the band pushing forward into the pop kingdom, bringing with them strings, synths and electronics. While you can admire their ballsy moves to explore other musical avenues, it's certain that the boys are capable of so much more than just mustering the courage to ask Rihanna to collaborate with them (granted that Princess of China is, hands down, the best thing on the album).

Despite being ambitiously produced, Mylo Xyloto feels strangely held back, not to mention the unforgivably cliched lyrics. It's decent for what it is, which is a listenable pop anthem album, but the band may want to take a long hard look at what it is that they want to achieve musically to further evolve and impress.

The long-serving R&B queen rolls out a second single from her upcoming 10th studio album, My Life II: The Journey Continues (Act 1), a follow-up to her 1994 release, My Life. On Mr Wrong, Blige collaborates with R&B's hottest thing, Drake, who's as reliable as ever when it comes to flawlessly shifting between singing and rapping. Blige croons during the bridge with her signature soulful powerhouse, lamenting the dilemma she's facing _ that she can't seem to ditch her Mr Wrong. The production is pretty lacklustre. But then again, who needs big, ambitious production when you have Mary J Blige and Drake in the house?

The National pay tribute to their long-time producer Peter Katis by covering Twenty Miles to NH Part 2, one of the songs from Katis' band the Philistines Jr. And exactly what we'd expect from the National _ a masterful approach to a song showcasing a perfect balance between melancholia and strangely hum-able pop elements. The piano during the intro heralds something good and sounds close to what Coldplay might have cranked out during their heyday. But as we all know, when it comes to this band, it's Matt Berninger's lithe vocals that reign supreme.

The Brooklyn indie outfit gets a tad experimental on I Can't Save Your Life, a B-side to Portamento's second single, How It Ended. Apart from the expected post-punk inspired guitar and bass (and claps) in the tradition of the Drums, this gem sees the band pushing the envelope during the song's second half with swirling, almost haunting synthesisers. By this time the singing has come to a complete halt as the warped synths have taken over. Hold on tight, folks, because it's one trippy ride from then on. As much as we love what the band has been offering us over the past few years, this is perhaps their most refreshing and compelling number to date.

After their acclaimed 2009 debut Sigh No More, British folk rockers Mumford and Sons have finally revealed a new track, Ghosts That we Know, the supposed first single off their highly-anticipated follow-up. ''You saw my pain, washed out in the rain/Broken glass, saw the blood run from my veins/But you saw no fault no crack in my heart/And you kneel beside my hope torn apart'' frontman Marcus Mumford croons evocatively over a melange of accordion, guitar and banjo. As with most of their songs, Ghosts That we Know is a contemplative alt-country number tinged with townsfolk's optimism.

Taken from his second album, At Your Inconvenience, Read All About It sees British rapper Professor Green teaming up with Scottish R&B/soul songstress Emeli Sande. For those of you unfamiliar with Prof Green, the guy's got a pretty impressive resume, having toured with Lily Allen and signed with Mike Skinner's (the Streets) label. He's a rare cross between Eminem and Bruno Mars. On Read All About It, Green gets intense with ultra personal lines, dedicated to his deceased dad, like ''As a kid I looked up to you/Only thing was I never saw enough of you/Last thing I said to you was I hated you/I loved you but now it's too late to say to you.'' Thanks to Emeli's soothing vocals, the song manages to be likeable and makes an enjoyable listen.

via: BP