Probably worth noting that Jo Whiley says she really digs the new album, listed her favourite tracks on instagram - none of which are these two songs. Hoping when we listen to the album(s) in its entirety, it'll all come together.
The day after though - big meh. I don't think they're bad songs at all, I like them better than probably most of what was on their last album - but there's still nothing there that'll make me ever want to search the songs up on Spotify specifically to play them. I'm never in the mood to hear these kinds of songs.
I keep flip flopping on this tune. I can't say that it's what I wanted out of Coldplay, but I also can't say that I don't like it - it's catchy, it's joyful, and it's Coldplay (at least newer Coldplay). It's got a lot of heart, and it's hard to deny that.
Although I always hated Hymn for the Weekend, one of the reasons being that I find singing about getting drunk and/or high (without any subtlety) to be sort of trashy and lame - I find this example different somehow. It's not about getting drunk, it's about getting drunk with your friends and feeling "home" - I really dig that message. It's still way more "mainstream-pop-radio" than I'd like from this band (especially compared with their earlier work) - but it's better.
The Coldplay I want more of is still in there somewhere, as it wasn't that long ago that they released this masterpiece:
I would agree with this being the last album of theirs I could listen to from start to finish, Viva La Vida is only a slight decline, but everything after that .... not as consistently solid..
Although, that being said I think Ghost Stories is their most interesting since X,Y.