X&Y
Things have gone ridiculously well for Coldplay since 2002's A Rush of Blood to the Head. The group's global album sales have soared past the 10-million mark, putting it in the same stratosphere as megabands U2 and the Dave Matthews Band. People have offered up their bank accounts, cars, and even bodies for tickets to its shows. And, in a interesting twist, frontman Chris Martin married Gwyneth Paltrow and set the tabloid world aflame. Funny thing, then, that the British quartet's much-anticipated third album, X&Y, is all about staying grounded. In the powerful opener, "Square One," the singer insists people are fundamentally the same no matter what their stature: "You just want... Somebody listening to what you say," he sings. On "Fix You," Martin grapples with imperfection and missed opportunity: "When you love someone but it goes to waste... Could it be worse?" Meanwhile, the vibrant single, "Speed of Sound," is all about reconnecting with the spirit and soul in the face of the paparazzi's flashbulbs. Musically, the band has never sounded more adventurous, referencing everyone from Kraftwerk ("Talk") to the Pogues ("Swallowed in the Sea"), all the while sweeping aside those Radiohead-lite comparisons to embrace a massive, moving sound that makes simplicity seem sublime. --Aidin Vaziri
X&Y @ amazon

X&Y
Coldplay were faced with a difficult choice as they set to work on X&Y. They could either follow Radiohead’s lead and use their enormous success and financial security as a springboard to a brave experimental future--or they could play it safe, repeat the tricks used on the 16 million-selling A Rush Of Blood To The Head, and consolidate their position as one of the biggest bands in the world. In truth, despite the Tetris-inspired artwork and presence of teaser track "Talk"--which steals its melody line from electro-futurists Kraftwerk’s gorgeous "Computer Love"--X&Y is more the latter than the former. Fans will be delighted by "What If?", a piano elegy that takes flight on strings, and slowly builds towards a Beatles' "A Day In The Life"-style climax, while the likes of "Fix You" and hidden track "'Til Kingdom Come"--originally written for country hero Johnny Cash--proves Martin’s skill for simple, affecting songwriting remains intact. One development, however, comes through the judicious inclusion of some rather pleasant synthesiser work--see "White Shadows", where Martin gently beseeches "Come on love, stay with me" over a gentle Eno-esque keyboard wash. Fair enough: the experimental albums can come later. --Louis Pattison
X&Y @ amazon uk

X&Y
As they proved on their stellar, remarkably focused sophomore effort, A Rush of Blood to the Head, Coldplay weren't about to be spoiled by success. But in the time since that disc's release, the band -- or, more to the point, major-domo Chris Martin -- have had to deal with a potentially more dangerous problem: a little thing called happiness. While most of the quartet's previous output has dealt with isolation, rejection, and unattainable love, X&Y was crafted in, for lack of a better term, the Gwyneth and Apple Years -- a fact that colors many of the disc's tunes. "The Hardest Part," one of the band's typically elegiac swoonfests, finds Martin marveling at the wonders of pregnancy(!) but managing to stop himself before sinking too deeply into Jim Brickman quicksand. Lovestruck giddiness likewise rears up in the sparse bonus track "Til Kingdom Come," a gentle, folk-tinged catalog of his spouse's attributes. X&Y isn't lyrically one-dimensional, thankfully, and musically, it's far more open-ended than Coldplay's previous full-lengths. "Square One," for instance, replaces the traditional slow build with a lurching gait propelled by Will Champion's tense post-punk drumming. Similarly, "Low," obviously inspired by the Bowie album of the same name, slinks along with a decadent and previously unaired lustiness. Most enjoyable of all -- in part because it shows a nascent sense of humor -- is "Talk," a winking appropriation of Kraftwerk's "Computer Love" that, in the hands of Martin and company, becomes a sort of cyborg power ballad. Much like U2 -- a band that's constantly held up as a benchmark for these boys -- at a similar point in their career, Coldplay exude both power and self-importance. And much like Bono and crew, it's looking like Coldplay have the goods to back up the latter for a long time to come. David Sprague
X&Y @ Barnes & Noble