They may still be tinkering with the tunes but, bit by bit, Coldplay are letting Mylo Xyloto out of the bag.
On Monday (September 12), they not only unveiled the second single from the album — a pulsing, preternaturally pretty song called "Paradise" — they also revealed the full track list for Xyloto, a collection of 14 songs that includes one rather, uh, unexpected guest star: Rihanna.
Yes, RiRi contributes vocals to the new track "Princess of China," which, along with live Coldplay favorites like "M.M.I.X.," "Hurts Like Heaven" and "Charlie Brown" made Xyloto's final cut. Also included on the album are "Up In Flames" and "Don't Let It Break Your Heart," a pair of songs that Coldplay's mysterious Roadie #42 recently described as "a masterwork of restraint" and "almost violently life-affirming," respectively.
Mylo Xyloto is produced by Markus Dravs, Daniel Green and Rik Simpson, with (as a press release from the band's publicist puts it) "enoxification and additional composition" from Brian Eno. The album will hit stores in the U.S. on October 24.
"Paradise" is the second official single off the disc, following in the footsteps of the massive "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall", and the similarities between the tracks don't end there. With its shimmering electronic pulses, whomping beat, repeated vocal mantras, wide-screen harmonies and epic crescendo, "Paradise" seems like the spiritual sequel to "Waterfall" (the latter is even mentioned in frontman Chris Martin's lyrics) and builds on a similar theme: one of maximum uplift.
The final track list for Coldplay's Mylo Xyloto, according to the band's spokesperson:
» "Mylo Xyloto"
» "Hurts Like Heaven"
» "Paradise"
» "Charlie Brown"
» "Us Against the World"
» "M.M.I.X."
» "Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall"
» "Major Minus"
» "U.F.O."
» "Princess of China"
» "Up in Flames"
» "A Hopeful Transmission"
» "Don't Let It Break Your Heart"
» "Up With the Birds"