- Source: Moon Music
Moon Music (full title Music of the Spheres Vol. II: Moon Music) is the tenth studio album by British rock band Coldplay. Released on 4 October 2024 by Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Atlantic Records in the United States, it serves as the second part of their Music of the Spheres project, the first being From Earth with Love (2021). Three editions of the album were released: Notebook, Tour and Full Moon. Each one has its own exclusive content, including voice memos, live sets and bonus tracks.
Production was primarily handled by Bill Rahko, Dan Green, Michael Ilbert and Max Martin, with additional work by Jon Hopkins, Ilya Salmanzadeh, Oscar Holter and the Chainsmokers. Hopkins is also credited as a featured collaborator, along with Burna Boy, Little Simz, Elyanna, Tini and Ayra Starr. In anticipation for Moon Music, Coldplay released the singles "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love" and "We Pray". The third and final effort, "All My Love", was made available on the same day as the album. The band is supporting both records from the Music of the Spheres project on their Music of the Spheres World Tour.
Moon Music received mixed reviews from critics, who praised its melodies and overall style, but were critical of the lyrics. Commercially, it debuted atop the UK Albums Chart with 236,796 units, becoming Coldplay's 10th number-one record and the fastest-selling release of the decade by a group. It also led the US Billboard 200, marking the first time a British band topped both rankings simultaneously since 2016. Other countries where the album reached number-one include Australia, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.
Background
Following the release of the ninth studio album Music of the Spheres, which subtitle Vol. I: From Earth with Love appears through the album booklet, hinting at a follow-up to the album in the following years. In January 2023, the band announced that they had completed recording the tenth studio album, entitled Moon Music. Throughout the Music of the Spheres World Tour, the band performed some songs from their tenth record project.
On 17 June 2024, Coldplay announced through their social media that Moon Music would be released on 4 October. On 16 August 2024, the band revealed its track listing. El Mundo, Los Angeles Times, Vulture, and To Vima ranked the album among the most anticipated of the year.
Recording and composition
The album was partially recorded at the Punta Paloma studio in Tarifa, Spain. Coldplay spent two weeks at the office – between July and August 2024 – and used it as a "base of operations" while playing their shows in Rome, Düsseldorf and Helsinki. Asked about the meaning behind the title, Chris Martin stated "it has to do with accepting all the different phases [of life]" and "shining your light without any needs for anything in return". Moon Music is generally described as a pop rock album with music influences from funk, afrobeat and electronic music.
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.
Artwork and package
The album cover features a moonbow shot, taken by Argentine photographer Matías Alonso Revelli in 2020. Coldplay contacted him directly to use the picture, and while he offered numerous other versions, the band ultimately maintained their initial choice. The rest of the package was created by long-time collaborator Pilar Zeta. CD editions of Moon Music were the first to be released on EcoCD, created from 90% recycled polycarbonate and sourced from post-consumer waste streams.
Promotion
= Budget
=
According to court documents released ahead of Moon Music's release, former manager Dave Holmes claimed to have negotiated a £35 million budget advance with Parlophone. Expenses included clearing samples, arranging recording sessions, recruiting producers and promotional campaigns. However, since Holmes was dismissed from his duties by Coldplay afterwards, it remains unclear whether the entire budget was used or not.
= Marketing
=
In anticipation for the album, the band launched numerous immersive listening pop-up events around the world. They were be held between 1 and 7 October, including cities like Auckland, Berlin, Beijing, London, Paris and Toronto, in addition to San Juan's Valle de la Luna. Coldplay also partnered with Record Store Day to arrange listening parties in indie record stores across the United States on 1 October, while the following day saw the launch of a global theatrical event. NME revealed that all proceeds from "Good Feelings" were donated to Choose Love. The Seoul Metropolitan Government teamed up with the band for a drone light show at Ttukseom Hangang Park to celebrate the album and their upcoming shows. As part of FC Barcelona's sponsorship deal with Spotify, Coldplay launched a new team shirt design, with revenue being directed towards UNHCR.
= Singles
=
Lead single "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love" was released on 21 June 2024, with its music video being shot at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus in Athens, Greece. Regional outlets estimated that the filming had a budget of €3 million, consequently ranking among the most expensive of all time. The second single, "We Pray" featured Little Simz, Burna Boy, Elyanna and Tini, receiving an 23 August launch. While not officially a single, "IAAM" was made available on 27 September as part of the EA Sports FC 25 soundtrack. The third single, "All My Love", was released on 4 October 2024 as the final single from the album and from their entire career.
Critical reception
Moon Music received generally mixed reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream outlets, the album has an average score of 58 out of 100 based on 13 reviews, which is categorised as "mixed or average reviews". In a four-star review for NME, Rhian Daily wrote it "gently and subtly distils that spirit of weathering any storm, going on a journey from that bleak opening moment to a more accepting, happier ending". She also commented both the lyrical and musical choices suggest an expression of resilience, since the "fake-outs don't just keep you guessing but mirror that feeling of having exhausted all your options, only for you to find the strength to push forward".
Clash's Emma Harrison described Moon Music as "the band's most expansive and intriguing album to date", feeling "like the best friend who helps you through the dark hours". Jon Dolan from Rolling Stone praised its musical range and stated there "is only 10 songs, but it's a lot, and that's the idea — the pop-rock LP as social, psychological, and metaphysical cold-plunge". Hannah Jocelyn told Pitchfork the record has "all the reasons to be sick of Coldplay" but also "all the reasons they'll be missed when they retire". She criticised the lyrics for not exploring their sentiments with enough depth and the frequent use of sing-alongs, but "for every questionable choice, there's a 6-minute nu-jazz vamp or classical prog-pop opus waiting around the corner. Only Coldplay would make a song called '🌈', but only Coldplay would make it [...] beautiful and exploratory".
Ben Beaumont-Thomas of The Guardian agreed with the sentiment, saying "Their 10th album has epic songs that make you feel like you've climbed Everest – but they're undermined by corny lyrics". Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic rated Moon Music three and a half stars out of five, opining that "Like so many of their recent efforts, it's a lot to take on: the freeform snapshots and contemplative experimentation recall the scrapbook approach of Everyday Life, while at its poppiest, Moon Music returns listeners to A Head Full of Dreams and Music of the Spheres. As a sibling set, [...] it does feel like a B-sides, here's-what's-left collection at times, for better or worse". El Hunt from The Standard opined that the album retreads "all-to-familiar themes to an uneven soundtrack".
Commercial performance
Moon Music debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart with 236,796 units sold. It became Coldplay's 10th chart-topper, their fastest-selling record since Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008), and the biggest week for a group since One Direction's Midnight Memories (2013), which moved 237,338 units. According to the BBC, it was the largest debut for a British act since Adele's 30 (2021), outselling the rest of the Top 40 combined. They became the sixth band in history to achieve 10 number-ones, after the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, U2, ABBA and Queen.
In Germany, Italy, Sweden, and the United States, Moon Music became the band's first number-one album since Ghost Stories (2014). It sold 120,000 equivalent units on the Billboard 200, their best week in American territory since A Head Full of Dreams (2015). Coldplay also topped the Artist 100 ranking for the first time ever. By scoring a fifth number-one album, they became the British act with most chart leaders in the country in the 21st century.
Additionally, Moon Music was the first time a British group topped the United Kingdom and United States album charts simultaneously since the 1975 with I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016). Despite opening at number two in Australia, the record reached number one in the following month. It ruled the ARIA Top 20 Vinyl Albums chart as well, making it their second to achieve the feat after Everyday Life (2019). In France, it debuted at number three with 19,213 units, outselling former chart-topper Music of the Spheres (2021). Moreover, the album became the band's first best-seller since Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (2008) in Austria.
Track listing
Coldplay's songwriting members are Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin.
Notes
^[a] signifies an additional producer.
The Apple Music edition of the album additionally includes a video titled A Film for the Future (0:24).
The Notebook edition of the album additionally includes a voice memo for each song, showing their development during the writing process.
With exception of "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love", all tracks are stylised in uppercase, though the letter "i" remains in lowercase.
"Feels Like I'm Falling in Love" is stylised in all lowercase, without spaces in-between.
"Alien Hits / Alien Radio" is stylised as "" on select platforms, being a combination of the tracks "Neon Forest", "Alien Hits / Alien Radio: Opus 5" and "Angelsong".
"IAAM" is an abbreviation for "I Am a Mountain".
Sample credits
"Moon Music" contains an excerpt of "Forever Held" by Jon Hopkins.
"Feels Like I'm Falling in Love" contains a sample of "Funeral Singers", performed by Sylvan Esso and written by Tim Rutili.
"Neon Forest" contains a sample of "Drone in C" by Sinerider.
"Angelsong" contains a sample of an appearance by Maya Angelou on Oprah's Master Class.
"Aeterna" contains a sample of "Weird Part of the Night" by Louis Cole.
"One World" contains a sample of "Root to Leaf" by John Metcalfe.
= Tour Edition
=
A special tour edition was made available on the band's online store between 4 and 7 October 2024. It features 10 bonus tracks recorded during the Music of the Spheres World Tour, with the digital format being accompanied by a 80-page booklet and the CD format being sold exclusively in the United States.
= Full Moon Edition
=
A deluxe edition with 10 extra tracks was released digitally through Coldplay's official store and streaming services on 6 October. Its physical release, exclusive to the United States, was also made available for 24 hours and limited to 5,000 CDs.
Notes
"Moon Music (Elodie)" is a version of "Moon Music" only including the piano, omitting Chris Martin's vocals and the synths and orchestral introduction of the original.
"Feels Like I'm Falling in Live" is a live version of "Feels Like I'm Falling in Love", and follows the same stylization as the original.
"We Pray (Be Our Guest)" has no lyrics in the second verse, inviting the listener to write their own; this was included in the "We Pray" single release as the "? Version".
"Angelsong" is the full version of the "Angelsong" portion in "Alien Hits / Alien Radio".
The single version of "Jupiter" omits the outro.
"I Am a Mountain" is a version of "IAAM" with a piano and vocal only arrangement.
"A Wave" is stylised as "" on select platforms.
Personnel
Coldplay
Guy Berryman – bass guitar (tracks 1–5, 7–10), bells (4), mandolin (7)
Jonny Buckland – guitar (tracks 1–5, 7–10), additional vocals (10)
Will Champion – percussion (tracks 1–3, 6, 8, 9), drums (2–5, 7–10), backing vocals (2, 7, 9), vocals (6), guitar (7), programming (8), Omnichord synthesizer (9)
Chris Martin – vocals (all tracks), keyboards (tracks 1–8, 10), piano (1, 3, 5–7, 9, 10), guitar (2, 4–7, 9), percussion (4)
Additional musicians
Additional vocalists
Technical
Charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
Notes
References
External links
Moon Music at Discogs (list of releases)
Moon Music at Metacritic
"One World" digital booklet liner notes
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