Top 50 2011: Hurry Up, Mylo Xyloto

I was having trouble writing about why I liked Coldplay’s album this year without referencing M83′s equally brilliant Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming, and I was finding the reverse true as well.  So like the image above, it just seemed best to combine them.

Coldplay are masters at changing their sound while still sounding like themselves.  Viva La Vida introduced them to Brian Eno, and his touch is still felt all over MX.  And the music sounds like them reaching the pinnacle of their sound – they’re poppier than ever on “Hurts Like Heaven”, dramatic as ever on “Paradise”, and “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart” is an anthem made for stadiums the world over.

Another artist whose latest album is their biggest this year is M83.  Besides the phenomenal “Midnight City” (which is soundtracking more things than ever), Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming shows Anthony Gonzales reaching even larger than on 2008′s Saturdays=Youth.  What’s more, the album sounds like Gonzales taking everything he’s learned in 10 years as M83 and applying it to the album.  ”Reunion” feels just as anthemic with it’s soaring “OH” chorus as any track off of Mylo Xyloto, and I often found myself getting the two confused when hearing intro seconds on my iPod (the fact that both albums sat in my “recently added” playlist at the same time didn’t help.  Still, it’s cool to see that both “mainstream” and “indie” acts are reaching for the same ideas and influences in their work.