Earlier this month, Coldplay released a new single titled “Magic.” The track is the first single from the band’s sixth studio album, “Ghost Stories”, which is scheduled for release on May 19th.

Despite my love for Coldplay, I have to admit that Magic isn’t a song that you’ll instantly love. The relaxed mid-tempo melody and melancholy drumming won’t really stick with you, but the fortunate thing about the song is that it’s a grower. Magic is one of those tracks that you don’t remember the first time you listen to it, or maybe even not the second time, but by the third time around, Chris Martin’s smooth falsetto and the upbeat percussion start to make their mark, and the song will be stuck in your head.

Musically, the track is isn’t a huge departure from Coldplay’s trademark sound, though there is markedly less piano and more synthesisers. Though this doesn’t sound like a song that’d necessarily come from the same band who once performed “Yellow”, Magic definitely sounds like a track that could’ve fit on the band’s last two albums.

The lyrics, which are about a complicated relationship (“I call it magic/When I’m with you…/And if you were to ask me/After all that we’ve been through/Still believe in magic?/Yes, I do”), are likely autobiographical, as Martin and his wife of 11 years, Gwyneth Paltrow, announced their split today.

At any rate, if Magic and Atlas are any indication of the stuff we can expect to hear on Ghost Stories, I can’t wait until May 19th!

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[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtb11P1FWnc&w=560&h=315]