Coldplay, ‘Paradise’ – Song Review

Coldplay once again aim for a stadium-sized sound and achieve it on 'Paradise,' the new single from their upcoming album 'Mylo Xyloto.'

While many of Coldplay's best songs are built around the voice of singer Chris Martin, 'Paradise' makes a lasting impression before Martin offers a single word.

The minute-long introduction builds with strings and keyboards before a slow, hypnotic beat enters the picture. Martin sings a third-person narrative about a girl whose life hasn't measured up to her expectations: "When she was just a girl / She expected the world / But it flew away from her reach / So she ran away in her sleep."

Martin references the band's last single with the lines, "Life goes on, it gets so heavy / The wheel breaks the butterfly / Every tear, a waterfall / In the night, the stormy night / She closed her eyes," before launching into an epic sing-along chorus, "She dreams of para, para, paradise."

After a guitar solo, the song fades out with soft humming and a brief piano section, a nicely understated ending to a captivating song. 'Mylo Xyloto' arrives on Oct. 25.

Listen to Coldplay, 'Paradise'