Mylo Xyloto (pronounced My-low Zy-letoe) is the fifth studio album to be released by Coldplay. The album sold 447,000 copies in the first week of its release. It comes three years after Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, an album that received critical acclaim and won many awards.

Mylo Xyloto may not be received well by fans who expect to hear classic Coldplay rock anthems. This album has a pop-rock feel to it. But musical evolution is common and not something that should be feared. Artists grow and change over time, so albums will be slightly different. Coldplay may lose the love of a few fans, but they are sure to gain new followers with this release.

While the album as a whole does have a more pop feel to it, there are a few tracks that measure up to Coldplay’s earlier styles. “Charlie Brown” and “Major Minus” are two tracks that would fit well on earlier albums. Long-time fans will appreciate the pure Coldplay-ness of the two songs.

The simple melodies and lyrics of “Up in Flames” and “U.F.O.” are reminiscent of the band’s first studio album- Parachutes which was released 11 years ago.

The second track on the album, “Hurts Like Heaven”, seems heavily influenced by the popular French band Phoenix.

It’s nice to hear new music from a band that has been together for more than a decade that may have been inspired by a newer band.

The first single of the album, “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”, might actually be the weakest track on the album. Sometimes that’s just how it goes. But when the weakest track is a catchy song that is climbing the charts, that’s not so bad.

Mylo Xyloto has received mixed reviews from critics, but it has grabbed the attention of the media around the world. And not for the music. The title of the album seems to have peeked everyone’s curiosity.

In an interview with The Sun, a British newspaper, Coldplay’s frontman Chris Martin said that the title, Mylo Xyloto, doesn’t mean anything.

“I think we’re a band with a lot of history now so it’s nice to come up with something that doesn’t have any history at all. We’ve had that title for about two years on a board and any other potential titles had to be written next to it. Other ones made more sense but we just liked this one, that’s all we can defend it with.”

Coldplay may need to defend their odd-meaningless choice in a title, but they should not have to defend the growth their music has made.

Mylo Xyloto is fresh, positive, and enjoyable. It’s a great album to listen to on a long drive.

It may be more pop and less rock, but it’s the music a great band has made. One can only hope that after another decade together Coldplay will still be putting out quality albums.