Record Reviews

Coldplay

Album: “A Head Full of Dreams”

Grade: B

Get out your disco ball. Coldplay has dabbled with dance music before but on the band’s new set, “A Head Full of Dreams,” Chris Martin and co. have gone full tilt. While still recognizable for its sweeping, ambitious anthems, this is Coldplay with 50 percent more twirl. Credit (or blame) Norwegian production duo Stargate, best known for its work with Beyonce, Rihanna and Katy Perry, who co-produced the set and put the extra pep in Coldplay’s step.

And speaking of Beyonce, she opens the lilting “Hymn for the Weekend,” which also features programming by Avicii. Swedish sensation Tove Lo drops by on “Fun,” a song about Martin’s conscious uncoupling from Gwyneth Paltrow that puts a positive glow on their split. To further prove there are no hard feelings, Paltrow sings on “Everglow,” a bittersweet ballad about the ties that bind even after the marital cord has been cut.

All the wistful bonhomie becomes a bit precious on “Birds,” which cuts off mid-song, and on “Kaleidoscope,” which features a spoken-word recitation by poet Coleman Barks that encourages welcoming the awareness life’s changes bring. Lyrically, Martin strives to find the silver lining in every disappointment, especially on the feel-good album closer “Up&Up.” And if you can dance to it, all the better, as the British quartet will undoubtedly prove when it headlines the Super Bowl 50 halftime show on Feb. 7.

—Melinda Newman, Associated Press

Enya

Album: “Dark Sky Island”

Grade: B+

By virtue of sales, Enya is one of the world’s best-selling musical artists. And yet “New Age” and “world” music — genres with which she is associated — are still dirty words in criticism. But there’s no denying the listenability of her music, which she without fail performs entirely herself (with the help of constant production partners Nicky and Roma Ryan).

The Irish superstar singer regularly turns out vocally layered, synthesizer-fueled and ambient recordings, with hits including her breakout 1988 song, “Orinoco Flow,” and “Only Time” from her 2000 album, “A Day Without Rain.” Her newest album, “Dark Sky Island,” is a welcome return to form after a 10-year silence punctuated only by a winter-theme 2008 release, “And Winter Came . .”

“Echoes in the Rain” is the “Dark Sky” single, a buoyant, rhythmic track that features pizzicato strings and her piano work. It focuses on the album’s central themes — traveling through time, journeying through life, and the power of memory. Another standout is “Even in the Shadows,” where she gets excellent double-bass support from Eddie Lee.

Enya’s songwriting is remarkable, if challenging to decipher on first listen, but the ephemeral, gauzy ethereality of her recordings wraps you in sonic solace. Enya’s expertise, and it’s not slight, lies somewhere between yoga music and meditative chant.

—Bill Chenevert, Philadelphia Inquirer