Sadly for Coldplay fans, this is the final Coldplay album for some time. The band have decided that enough is enough in terms of recording output and will be only touring from this point on until further notice. Not exactly a great thing for fans of the band, or arguably a great marketing strategy. To finish up as a band, this final release of theirs is a continuation of their previous 2021 album release Music Of The Spheres conceptually. Indeed, the full name of this album is Music Of The Spheres Vol. II: Moon Music. This album version is an expanded release edition of the main album, with a second disc of songs. Upon release, this album went straight to #1 on the album charts in many countries, including both the UK and the USA. Critically, it received mixed reviews from many mainstream review outlets. The album was recorded over a long period between 2022 and 2024 at Punta Paloma and The Rainforest studios. It has a large number of producers on this album: Bill Rahko; Dan Green; Max Martin; Michael Ilbert; Jon Hopkins; Oscar Holter; Ilya and the Chainsmokers. The album itself was released on 4 October 2024 on EMI/Parlophone Records. Coldplay are: Guy Berryman (bass guitar); Jonny Buckland (guitars and backing vocals); Will Champion (drums, percussion and electronics) and Chris Martin (vocals, piano and keyboards). Let’s take a listen to the final album by Coldplay, and we shall hear how it sounds.

MOON MUSiC features Jon Hopkins. It begins with an ethereal fade-in, which sounds really lovely and spacey. A robotic voice states the song title, as this digital symphony continues along nicely, complete with a string section to match it. This does sound really great to hear. It is a glimpse of the AI-driven world today and the great impact that exploring outer space can have, set to music. This does sound moving and magical. A very different listening experience by Coldplay. Piano eventually enters, which sounds quite melodic and sad, in many ways. Nonetheless, this is a gorgeously powerful piece of music, from the go. This is a beautiful and undeniably strong song to listen to. It does sound great, even if Coldplay’s efforts are notably hit-and-miss. Chris Martin sings eventually, and he sings a poetic set of lyrics. A really great listen, all the same. This is a very emotional musical piece to listen to. Referencing Pink Floyd’s 1979 album, The Wall, this is a strange song to listen to. It is very beautiful, all the same. Repeating the line stolen from Pink Floyd: “Is there anybody out there?”, this song wraps up after four and a half minutes. A good start to this album. It segues into the next track.

feelslikeimfallinginlove is a single from the album. It sounds great from the start, with electronic textures and drum machines whilst Chris Martin sings over the top of it all. This is a good Coldplay song, even if they are well past their 2000s peak in terms of musicianship. Still, this is a beautiful song about falling deeply in love with a partner for the first time, set to beautiful music and instrumentation. Chris Martin is definitely not the greatest singer ever, and his voice obviously needs a great deal of autotune on their records. Still, for a single, this is a really sweet, melodic and impressive piece of music. This is a good example of one of Coldplay’s better moments in recent times. Sure, it is more like Radiohead’s Kid A 2000 release than anything else so far on this album, but it sounds tremendously awesome. The la-la-la’s towards the end sound very glorious. Another winner from Coldplay to listen to. It concludes with a great instrumental section of electronics and strings. Excellent.

WE PRAY is one of the singles from the album, which features Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and TINI. It begins with some unusual percussion and sounds, launching into a piece of dramatic-sounding songcraft with a string section included. This is a great example of Coldplay putting style over substance, and Chris Martin sings about prayer, presumedly in the Christian way. This song is a polarising one. Not everyone who listens to this album will enjoy this sort of musical sentiment, as not all listeners will appreciate the talk about praying to God. The guests on this tune are also poorly thought out, and this song is good for Hillsong-styled audiences, but nobody else. It’s not an impressive piece of music, and the guests ruin this song as they aren’t needed on this tune. In short, this song is a real disappointment. The choir-styled singing in the background is different towards the end, but by this point, you can skip ahead if you wish. A false ending occurs before some singing and piano by Chris Martin occurs. Not good.

JUPiTER begins with some crisp and nice-sounding acoustic guitar, with Chris Martin singing about the planet in the solar system. It is a much better effort than before, and the mixture of instrumentation and production is a rich listening experience. In any case, this song sounds magically glorious throughout. The simplicity, beauty and original concept and lyrics of this song make for a decent listen. There are soothing backing vocals in the background of this track, and Chris Martin sings repeatedly to love and not give up. Some Sgt. Pepper-styled string sections are present in the midsection of music, and this album does sound impressive, even if this isn’t Coldplay’s best effort musically. It does sound very much like an album of the future. There is another false ending in this song before the music fades back in again. This does sound extraordinarily good and awesome. It slows down and goes back into the space journey towards the end, before finishing. Decent.

GOOD FEELiNGS features Ayra Starr. It begins with the sound of children at a school before some weird electronic sounds enter into this piece. Drums and a funky Fender Stratocaster enter. This piece sounds rather mediocre and a bit too polished for its own good. Chris Martin sings over this Disco styled tune. Musically, this is a bit of a step back. It’s not outright bad per se, but isn’t the best track off this album either. Ayra Starr’s appearance is a bit off as well. It makes one wonder why she is on this song. It just doesn’t sound right for her to be here. This music sounds rather trashy on this song. It is definitely here today, gone tomorrow material. A breakdown with the Fender Stratocaster guitar parts and children chanting is present. This is a bit awkward sounding overall, rather than being groundbreaking or musically amazing. It’s okay, but most listeners will not want to hear this again. It ends with more la-la-la’s and a string section.

Alien Hits / Alien Radio is stylised as a rainbow on streaming services. It begins with some more ethereal and interesting electronic sounds and textures. Chris Martin sings in the background at the beginning of this six-minute-long piece. It sounds interesting and more intelligent than you’d think. Some electric guitars are thrown into the mix as well. Surely these guys are digging Jean Michel Jarre’s works? This gradually builds up to a mixture of Rock and Electronic Music. This is an instrumental tune, but it sounds futuristic, spacey and trippy throughout. Chris Martin sings lyrics intermittently on this tune. Some acoustic guitars follow, and this interesting piece of music continues to come alive. A really fascinating and different listen. This is exactly the sort of music that you can test a good pair of headphones with. A piano then enters, and this tune sounds very pretty and wonderful throughout. This is nonetheless a really beautiful piece of music. Some high-octave harmonies and guitar strumming, along with soft drumming, match this song very nicely. There are some Pink Floyd-ian styled sounds on this tune as well. To be fair, this album is not perfect, but is so far a wonderful swan song by Coldplay. A really lovely sounding piece of music. Towards the end, this does feel a little lengthy. Still, one can appreciate this song’s beauty. A sample of speech at the end, followed by some sampled singing here finishes off this song. This is good, although this isn’t Coldplay’s best moment. The speech sample returns by likely an African-American lady talking about the weather and rainbows, before this piece fades out.

iAAM sounds a bit strange from the start, with some upbeat guitars throughout. Chris Martin sings about changing one’s tune throughout life but with both hope and optimism throughout. This bursts into a chorus about the rain and the experiences that empower one in life. This does reek a little of a pretentious attitude by Chris Martin in particular, but the music is really tremendously fantastic to listen to. “Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain!” sings Chris Martin repeatedly. This is a good song for 2024, even if the album is past Coldplay’s peak era of Parachutes (2000) and A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2002). A good song, albeit a little repetitive throughout. This ends after three minutes in length with some good Rock instrumentation and some strummed acoustic guitars and Mandolin. Good stuff.

AETERNA begins with some Daft Punk-sounding electronic textures, which is different. It quickly launches into an EDM Pop tune. Honestly, this sounds a bit too experimental for Coldplay’s music. It’s not that impressive-sounding a song either, to be fair. In any case, it is certainly listenable but this album is mostly an exploration of sounds, sonics and textures throughout. The falsetto high-end vocals are rubbish, to be fair and are digitally edited. Chris Martin clearly isn’t that great a singer overall. Regardless, this tune does have its merit, particularly the Disco-styled bass guitar playing in the verses. This music is still better than the Mylo Xyloto album released in 2011. All the same, this is far more an album aimed at making electronic textures than simple, sing-along songs that Coldplay originally was famous for. In the second half are some stereo-panned and odd sonic textures, before another section of vocals and chanting with handclaps enter. Very odd. This album does have quite a psychedelic 21st-century flavour to all of it, however. The chanting and singing wrap up after four minutes in length.

ALL MY LOVE begins with some moody piano and sounds great. Chris Martin sings sweetly here, and he sings about the processes of love with a lady of his life. A really sweet and gorgeous musical statement is present, as Chris Martin sings about eternal love to his lady. Dramatic, inspired and excellent sounding, this song is a pleasant listening experience. Acoustic guitars join in with a string section, alongside the singing and piano as well. A really seriously cool tune to listen to, this music sounds grand, gorgeous and sweet. One of the better pieces of music from this double album release, Chris Martin puts aside his ego for this one. There are some interesting sounds and textures in the second half as well, before drums kick in and this song gets more lively. Unfortunately, if this song has a flaw, it is fairly repetitive to listen to. In any case, a very, very good listening experience that is lively and uplifting. Terrific, and one of the lighter and more memorable moments from this release.

ONE WORLD is the final track on the first half of this double album. It begins with some samples of birds chittering, followed by some very Underworld-like bass melodic textures. This song is nearly seven minutes long. A piano enters, as per usual for this album, and this song gets underway. Nonetheless, it sounds really sweet and cool. Chris Martin sings nicely and sweetly about planet Earth, and he nearly whispers the vocal part, as he is singing very softly here. Some nice electric guitar is in the background of this song as well. The title of the song is repeatedly sung by Chris Martin. A musical interlude with a build-up of sound that is, really quite weird to hear, occurs. This is looped for a little bit before some other electronic sounds begin to emerge. One hopes that the world of music was made better by Coldplay’s music career. The string section and sounds present are moody and moving, and the whole tune sounds quite wonderful. A good listen if you want to ignore the fact that Coldplay began as a Rock band, not a band specialising in Electronic Music. This is a sweet and sensational listen regardless. In the second half, drums and acoustic guitars are gradually mixed in, followed by Chris Martin’s vocals. Clearly, this is the end of Coldplay, which is very sad to hear. “In the end…it’s just love” sings Chris Martin before there is a quick ending and some silence. The silence is present for some time before the chirping birds and some interesting percussion enters. An old radio-styled mix recording then emerges, with some rather ordinary harmonies. Another decent song, with a quirky finish to hear. This does the first half of the album to conclude nicely with.

Moon Music – Elodie begins side two of this release. It begins with some melodic piano which sounds very emotional and sad. In any case, this does sound really quite good as well. This is your typical melancholy ballad and it sounds extremely nice. The solo piano piece continues, and this is a nice piece of music to listen to. A bit of a tearjerker musical ballad, Coldplay may yet come to regret their decision to stop recording new music. This piano solo continues on well throughout and sounds excellent in the process. Worth a listen for fans of Coldplay and Classical Music buffs. It ends with some dramatic piano parts to conclude with.

feelslikeimfallinginlive begins with some downpitched and distorted vocals before this launches into a live version of the hit song from this album. It is a good listen, but if you wish to hear a real live Coldplay effort, there are plenty of those available from the band already. Still, this does sound very uplifting and enjoyable throughout. A good listen, although this song is obviously edited quite extensively post-recording. In any case, Coldplay showcases their ability to pull off a good live performance as well. A good listen all the same. This does sound dramatic and sweet as a piece of music throughout. A good optional extra to listen to from this double album, although not central to the overall listening experience. A really great and sweet listening experience throughout, this is a good live performance. Nice to hear and proof that this is one of the better songs on the double album. Chris Martin closes the song thanking the crowd and wishing them well. The crowd cheers in response.

The Karate Kid begins with some dramatic and sweet piano. This is an original song, surprisingly, not really related to the film itself. Even so, this is a gorgeous song that has a bunch of equally gorgeous string sections and great production on it. Chris Martin sounds quite good singing here, although obviously his voice is drenched in autotune. The music does sound sweet and amazing, and the production sounds like a million bucks. A short, sweet and enjoyable musical ballad that sounds great. Less than three minutes of gorgeous beauty throughout, this sounds exquisite, like a flawless diamond, production-wise. A really great listen.

We Pray – Be Our Guest features Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and TINI. It is a redo of the original tune, with some pounding beats and electronic textures present. This is a bit pointless to add this song again to this double album, especially as the main song is not the greatest song to listen to in the first place. Skip ahead if you can, as this song is not really worth hearing again. Sure, this is an expanded edition of this album, but rehashing a poor song in the first place isn’t exactly smart. So, for all benefits and purposes, this is worse than hearing the song the first time around. The religious overtones of the song are likely to be a massive turn-off for many listeners out there as well. This song is garbage, so do yourself a favour and junk it out of your music library and memory. The outro here is also unnecessary.

Angelsong begins with some piano and glittering textures throughout. This sounds different, but fresh and sweet throughout. Some acoustic guitars enter, and this piece has some high-end harmonies as well. Coldplay has succeeded in making a very nicely detailed and sweet listening experience throughout this double album, and this song is no different. A very good listen throughout, despite being an instrumental. This is music for Coldplay fans to meditate to. It is downtempo, gentle and quite good listening. A lovely and beautiful listening experience throughout, this definitely sounds very lovely. If we need proof of the digital musical developments in the world of music, this album is a clear case of that. It is a rehash of the Alien Hits / Alien Radio (rainbow) tune on the first half of the album, but is much shorter and gentler to listen to. Even on its own, this is a good listen. Worth your time to go through, once again.

Jupiter – Single Version is a shortened piece of music for the single release of this song. It has a crisp acoustic guitar being played, and sounds closer to the 2000 Coldplay Parachutes debut album than anything else on this particular double album. All the same, this is a crisp, clear and bright-sounding piece of music that sounds very, very nice. A really awesome and straightforward tune stripped back without any electronics on it. Very sweet to listen to, and less than three minutes long throughout. This song sounds amazing, complete with the Sgt. Pepper-styled string section. A really awesome tune to listen to, this sounds very gentle, humane and gorgeous. Coldplay still packs a great deal of nice and relatable music to this day.

Man in the Moon begins with some weird electronic textures, launching into a very nice and sweet-sounding piece of music with pounding beats. It quickly goes downhill with some awful sounds, before Chris Martin sings away. In any case, this is likely filler on this double album, but Coldplay fans will likely dig this song. The chorus has some chanting and is very singalong if you dig this sort of music. This album is likely to polarise music listeners upon hearing it. Some will enjoy this, and some will definitely hate the music here. In any case, this does sound extremely interesting to listen to, and it sounds absolutely well-produced. Coldplay really should continue to make music into the future, but they are not. This sounds very much like contemporary music, but not the best of it at that. Regardless, this does sound very interesting regardless of how trashy it is. It fades out gradually at the end, with the whistled melody and Mandolin playing away.

i AM A Mountain begins with pounding pianos and has Chris Martin singing about feeling great and ecstatic about life, which is a rehash from earlier on in the album. He goes into his sensitive new-age guy persona very quickly, which is difficult to believe that Coldplay is really like that. In any case, this stripped and pleasant-sounding song is another winner to listen to. At least Coldplay wanted to deliver an expanded album at the end of their career for their fans. It makes perfect sense at this time. Towards the end is pounding piano and irresistable singing to match it all. A good listen throughout, it ends with the chugging piano parts here.

All My Love – Live in Dublin begins with some crowd cheering and applause, followed by Chris Martin instructing the crowd how to sing the chorus for this live recording. He quickly thanks the crowd after, and the song eventually gets going nicely. This is a fantastic listen from the start, and Chris Martin sings extremely well throughout this song. The audience sings along with the chorus of the song nicely as requested, and it sounds fantastic throughout. All in all, this is a good live performance that has a decent amount of gorgeous melodic piano, decent singing and lyricism throughout. The singing from both Chris Martin and the crowd sounds very good in conjunction with each other. This music sounds great, stripped back and live. The piano progression and harmonies sound quite nice here. Chris Martin sounds great here in a live setting. Worth a listen, if you have stayed to this point of the album. The crowd approves as well.

A Wave is the final song on this double album, featuring Jon Hopkins and has a picture of a hand waving on streaming services. It begins with some electronic sounds which sound nice and ethereal. Some FSOL-styled sounds and electronic textures enter, and this sounds very psychedelic in a postmodern electronic sense. This has some digitally modified vocals, stating the title of the song. This finishes off a double album that certainly is a good listen throughout and ends Coldplay’s music-making side of their career. Chris Martin sings about the end, and he promises to meet again. This has some soft vocals and piano to finish off with, alongside some looped electronic textures. The album fades out here.

Warts and all, this is a very good album to listen to. Side one is the main journey, and side two is for Coldplay fans out there. If Coldplay is calling it quits for their recording duties, and potentially their long-term music career, then this is a very decent way to end a 25-year-long music career by the band. Musically, this is their own version of Radiohead’s 2000 album release Kid A. It is not perfect (particularly WE PRAY is quite awful), but it is a better effort than anything Coldplay released in the 2010s. Therefore, bonus points go to the album for that. Should you listen to this release? Yes, but only if you liked earlier Coldplay releases and you ignore the rather unnecessary second half of the album. People who hate melancholy music will be better off not hearing this, however.

A graceful swan song.

7/10