Editor’s Note: The opinions and attitudes expressed by the author are those of the author and not necessarily of the publication’s editorial board. This segment is part of a series of opinions by Kevin Lee entitled “Kevin’s Treasure Trove.”

If you’re not sure what Mylo Xyloto means, you’re not alone. Coldplay singer Chris Martin admits he’s not really sure either — apparently it’s just a dreamy made-up name that sounded nice. That’s actually pretty fitting for the album, a sweet, dreamy concept album chronicling the love story of a made-up couple: Mylo and Xyloto. Too bad Coldplay doesn’t live up to expectations, foregoing soul for a little extra sugar.

Thanks to some tight production and swirling synths, “Mylo Xyloto” feels glossy and coated with sweet icing. It’s still got that lovely acoustic guitar and Chris Martin’s cooing vocals that defined some of Coldplay’s earliest but none of the old comforting emptiness (“Yellow” or “The Scientist”, anyone?). Instead, a U2-esque guitar, smothered with lovely delay and reverb (is it just me or is that in nowadays?), chimes in the back of many songs, accompanied by some fantastic synth work — “Princess of China”’s popping synth intro comes to mind. Rihanna’s on that track too, something I personally would’ve never seen coming. But hey, after Coldplay featured Jay-Z on their absolutely awesome song “Lost+” I guess anything’s possible. Not too sure what the song has to do with China when it sounds to me like the breakdown between Mylo and Xyloto, but I have to admit the pop singer lays down some pretty catchy melodies on the verses (notice: not chorus). Still, it’s not so much of a standout next to when Coldplay busts out some bluesy sensibilities on “Major Minus” or the super jangly guitar on the loveable “Charlie Brown”.

“Us Against the World”’s wah-woah-oh-oh soaring chorus over strumming acoustics is a welcome melodic gem, but its mid-tempo pace and generic ballad style piano chord backing make it otherwise unnoteworthy. Coldplay tries the ol’ mid-tempo acoustic guitar and vocals formula again on the standout “U.F.O.”. It really doesn’t feature much other than Martin cooing “ohhhh” and a line taken from their hidden track Til Kingdom Come, but somewhere in the mix of the lovely whir sound of fingers sliding on guitar strings and vocal climbing they hit a sweet chord and make this relatively short track a light pleasure on the ears.

Coldplay slows it down for “Up in Flames”, a piano-based slow jam with a bass drum heartbeat at its core. It’s a standout on the album for being one of the few, if not only, with a romantic, acoustic-stripped down feel, with simple lyrics and a simple vocal melody joined by strings. You can actually feel Mylo and Xyloto’s story in this one. It’s immediately followed by “A Hopeful Transmission”, an interlude which explodes into the chugging “Don’t Let It Break Your Heart”, an upbeat reassurance of love I could not help dancing around in my headphones stupidly with. Yup. The album finishes off with the forgettable “Up With the Birds”, a song with synth strings laid thick, some acoustic guitar, and not really much to its merit.

Unfortunately some of the lyrical magic is lost. Yeah, I’m looking at you, “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”. And on the aforementioned “Princess of China”, the “Cause you really hurt me/No you really hurt me” line really gets to me. I feel like my English teacher calling out the use of “really” and “very” instead of better adjectives, but for this one I’m on their side. Coldplay doesn’t really touch on some of their deeper subjects such as the meaning of life, like they did on their single “What If” from 2005’s X&Y. They do have some of their moments, however, especially on “Hurts Like Heaven”: “Written up in marker on a factory sign/’I struggle with the feeling that my life isn’t mine’” and “So on concrete canvas and a glow in the dark/Concrete canvas, I will make you a mark/Armed with the spray can soul”. Not to mention that song immediately caught my attention with its undeniably catchy beat — definitely a keeper.

And about those singles, “Paradise”, “Princess in China” (which isn’t exactly a single, but it may as well be), and “Every Teardrop is a Waterfall”: they’re undeniably catchy in a thumping dance synth way, but that was never what I looked to Coldplay for. Really hoping someone grabs the great melody from Princess (or any of the three) and does a electro/dubstep remix though. Yeahh. Make it happen.

Generally though, the whole of “Mylo Xyloto”’s pretty enjoyable, and so listening through it is like a quick ride in a fast car — short and sweet. But there’s something missing. I can’t help but feel it may have been better to slow that ride down, to stop and examine some of that strange countryside. After all, it’s an album with art that looks like someone vomited a rainbow out and then sprayed graffiti on it (in a good way) about a completely made up world with fantasy characters and out-there names. To top it off, Martin says it was partially inspired by an artistic revolutionary group who fought the Nazis during World War II. When you take all that into consideration, “Mylo Xyloto”’s cheesy love lyrics and synth backed dance/pop beats seem rather… well, flat. Thin. One-dimensional. Some of the older Coldplay music had some real charm to it, whether it was the more alternative sound or the hauntingly sweet vocals we were introduced to back when Parachutes first came out.

Booty: Up in Flames, Hurts Like Heaven, Major Minus, Charlie Brown
Scurvy: Up with the Birds, Princess of China

Verdict: It’s more guilty pleasure than real treasure, but don’t let that stop you from picking up a copy. Get.