"Princess of China" Coldplay and Rihanna

After sweeping, stadium-ready anthems like "Every Teardrop is a Waterfall" and "Paradise," Coldplay gets grittier and clubbier on "Princess of China," the fourth single from Mylo Xyloto. With its moody synths, booming bass and screeching guitar, it's a track that would sound much more at home on collaborator Rihanna's latest release, Talk That Talk—which is just as well, considering Chris Martin's vocal all but drops out from the mix after the first minute. Nevertheless, it's a combination of styles that doesn't seem to fit comfortably in either artist's wheelhouse, and the result is uninspiring. On the lackluster chorus, for example, we're deprived of the emotional climaxes normally found in Coldplay's U2-ish theatrics and Rihanna's ear-candy hooks. Only the lovely melding of voices in the song's outro truly makes itself felt. B-