A Head Full of Dreams
by Coldplay
  • Record Label: Atlantic
  • Release Date: Dec 4, 2015
User Score
6.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 461 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 275 out of 461
  2. Mixed: 121 out of 461
  3. Negative: 65 out of 461
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  1. badgerfan21
    Dec 4, 2015
    3
    This is just ... not very good. I suppose if you started as a 15 year old with this album, you might like it. if you've paid attention to this from their EP days, this feels like a cynical cash-in; an attempt to satisfy an album deal as quickly as possible. It reminds me of the MOR approach U2 turned to after POP, but without the tunes. Avoid.
  2. Wingjammer
    Dec 6, 2015
    3
    Disappointing. Feels rushed and commercial. There are few moments that there are flashes of Coldplay, but not a lot. I feel we have been on the ride for all the albums. Stuck in there for Mylo Xyloto and it paid off, much of the album aged pretty well. Ghost stories for me echoed some of more mellow darker sounds of Parachutes. This album doesnt have the quality ring of Mylo Xyloto, butDisappointing. Feels rushed and commercial. There are few moments that there are flashes of Coldplay, but not a lot. I feel we have been on the ride for all the albums. Stuck in there for Mylo Xyloto and it paid off, much of the album aged pretty well. Ghost stories for me echoed some of more mellow darker sounds of Parachutes. This album doesnt have the quality ring of Mylo Xyloto, but tries to pump up the same upbeat sound. I don't think it will grow on me. And for me 'Hymn for the weekend' is the final straw. A drinking song on a Coldplay album just seems kind of cheap. Lets hope this hits the discount pile as quickly as possible so we can feel a bit better shilling out only a few dollars for this one.… Expand
  3. Prosmooth
    Dec 4, 2015
    3
    Their last 3 or 4 albums including this one--just aren't very good. Chris Martin's mediocre and maudlin lyrics used to be forgiven early on because the music was so good--but he should have gotten better by now--and he hasn't. The lyrics on this record are cringe worthy--and thematically (musically) there just isn't any cohesion. A Head Full of Dreams is a mess.
  4. normankant
    Dec 28, 2015
    0
    Coldplay have definitely lost their way. They're trying to reinvent themselves on every new release since Mylo Xyloto, and while they were achieving something with some songs on Ghost Stories, with this album they confirm their unbelievable descent. In this record they're tryin' to hard to be "indie", and the amount of color put in the cover of the album should warn you about the amount ofColdplay have definitely lost their way. They're trying to reinvent themselves on every new release since Mylo Xyloto, and while they were achieving something with some songs on Ghost Stories, with this album they confirm their unbelievable descent. In this record they're tryin' to hard to be "indie", and the amount of color put in the cover of the album should warn you about the amount of gumminess put in the production of the songs: every sound feels nauseating and clichè, and the pseudo-lofi patina present in each song is suffocating and makes you reject everything they're proposing you in this horrible album.… Expand
  5. Jiano74
    Jan 24, 2016
    2
    This album was bad I didn't enjoy it one bit I will move straight on to the next album after being put through this. It was awful like some albums I have reviewed but it wasn't good either so listen to it and judge for yourself.
  6. Morio
    Dec 15, 2015
    3
    This is probably the worst album ever!They make pop and r n b music for money and succes!!!Is far the most wrong album they ever made!The songs are so sadly low!Ok im rating this with 3!!! It deserve it
  7. willemb98
    Oct 25, 2016
    0
    Remember how Coldplay was a manly, guilty pleasure you didn't have to be ashamed of? That time is gone. This experimenting genre they're going through at the moment is ridiculous. Mylo Xyloto was already pushing the boundaries but was still musically and lyrically solid. This album is just **** Adventure of a Lifetime is a disappointing song coming from Coldplay, if it was from a moreRemember how Coldplay was a manly, guilty pleasure you didn't have to be ashamed of? That time is gone. This experimenting genre they're going through at the moment is ridiculous. Mylo Xyloto was already pushing the boundaries but was still musically and lyrically solid. This album is just **** Adventure of a Lifetime is a disappointing song coming from Coldplay, if it was from a more unknown band I would have liked it, but the bar is set higher for Coldplay. Even collaborating with Noel Gallagher in Up&Up couldn't save this album. Please, if you do make another album make a similar album to the first 5 albums.… Expand
  8. hater420
    Jan 17, 2016
    1
    Coldplay has managed to continue with their decline, publishing yet another unpolished and repetitive album. The genre of music is unfitting and "trash". I hate listening to it. I feel like it gives me a virus. Don't even mention the hip style of it and the cover and the music videos.... I'm starting to lose faith in this band. I recall the good old days where they were still good. OnceColdplay has managed to continue with their decline, publishing yet another unpolished and repetitive album. The genre of music is unfitting and "trash". I hate listening to it. I feel like it gives me a virus. Don't even mention the hip style of it and the cover and the music videos.... I'm starting to lose faith in this band. I recall the good old days where they were still good. Once again disappointed..… Expand
  9. njchurchill
    Jan 21, 2016
    1
    Coldplay are in a league of their own. Pros - better than 99.7% of what's out there - I'll be listening to this for months after Justin Bieber's latest are distant memory. The sound quality on some songs (on my CD) is pretty sketchy unfortunately. Could just be my copy.
  10. ranoovski
    Nov 4, 2016
    3
    This group makes me compare their past work. And I tell you. That's horrible. With this album, like the only song from the last album, like all the songs. There is a difference? There is.
  11. BrainAndS0ul
    Aug 8, 2017
    3
    Well... The cover is looking nice (reminding me of BMTH's Semphiternal)... Birds is alright, I guess (still weaker than ALL of the AROBTTH songs)... Video to Up&Up is gorgeous, but it doesn't save the song and, of course, it doesn't save the album.
  12. All_ButTrU4
    Aug 25, 2022
    0
    Beyond the title track theres really nothing to get from listening to this derivative Oasis offshoot

Awards & Rankings

14
#14 Most Discussed Album of 2015
14
#14 Most Shared Album of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
60

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 27
  3. Negative: 2 out of 27
  1. DIY Magazine
    Dec 16, 2015
    40
    Instead of its wide-eyed optimism rubbing off onto others, this album has the effect of canned laughter bouncing off the walls. It’s a hundred nutritional yoghurts being mushed into bland liquid nothingness.
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  2. Drowned In Sound
    Dec 14, 2015
    30
    The head feels weighed down with unresolved torment, the smile forced and awkward, the colours garish and messily-applied.
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  3. Clash Music
    Dec 11, 2015
    40
    It’s clear that Coldplay retain their thirst, their passion for making music--it’s merely a shame that it results in such polite noises.
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