Coldplay - Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends

Having recruited the legendary Brian Eno to produce their fourth LP, based the album’s name on a painting by Frida Kahlo and harped on about a change in sound and direction, it is of little surprise that the release of Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends has been treated with both high expectation and cynical mockery alike. Whether or not the album constitutes as sharp a change in direction as front man Chris Martin had originally built up is debatable: the standard emotive, stadium rock elements that have become synonymous with Coldplay since day one are still present (see Viva La Vida and Violet Hill), though there are clear signs of experimentation outwith their usual comfort zone. In the build-up to the release date, Martin had hinted that much of the album would have slight Latin and African flavours to it, and this is certainly evident in tracks like Strawberry Swing, Yes and Lost. There is also a first for the band in the form of the instrumental album opener Life In Technicolour. By and large, this is very much like any other Coldplay record, though it contains assured traces of a certain daring that has often escaped them in the past. (Iain Lobban)