Hurts Like Heaven
"Hurts Like Heaven" is a song by British rock band Coldplay from their fifth studio album, Mylo Xyloto. It was written by all members of the band along with producer Brian Eno, being released as the final single from the record on 8 October 2012. The track promoted the comics which tied into the original story from Mylo Xyloto. On 16 April 2013, the band announced it as a 7" limited single for Record Store Day, with a live version of "Us Against the World" serving as its B-side.
Background
In an interview with The Independent, lead singer Chris Martin stated that guitarist Jonny Buckland was largely involved in the creation of "Hurts Like Heaven", saying of the song: "'Hurts Like Heaven' is all Jonny. It only has two chords. The songs are group-y, it's guitar-y. Jonny is coming out of his cocoon. We're just trying some risky things."Reviews of the song have noted that the song contains signs of influences of the other artists; in their preview of Mylo Xyloto, Q noted that "the melodies, like the title, are a nod to the '80s heroes they so successfully channelled on A Rush of Blood to the Head, The Cure and Echo and the Bunnymen's influence looming large as Chris Martin sings like he's in a hurry the chorus is as upliftingly bittersweet as Robert Smith and co's best pop songs, whilst the "whoa oh oh" bridge provides the record's first stadium-singalong moment." Reviews from both Rolling Stone and The A.V. Club have drawn comparisons to dance-punk band LCD Soundsystem, with the latter calling the song "a driving homage" to the band.
Music video
The music video for "Hurts Like Heaven" was announced at the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con. Coldplay posted a 30-second teaser trailer on Twitter on the evening of 5 October 2012. It was later released on 8 October 2012. The clip, which does not feature the band, is a comic book style animation set on a futuristic dystopian storyline and it's the animated version of the first number of the Mylo Xyloto comics. Directed by Mark Osborne with illustrations by Alejandro Fuentes, the video contains flashes of neons, the band's trademark over the course of Mylo Xyloto's promotions.The story is set in the world of "Silencia" ruled by a dictator: Major Minus, who wants to take colors and sounds off the streets and controls the population through propaganda and his army of "silencers". The video follows Aiko and Lela, two "sparkers", who, with other "sparkers", light up the streets of "Silencia" escaping from the "silencers" who eventually catch and arrest them.