Coldplay Evolves with "Viva La Vida" Album

After receiving mixed reviews for their 2005 release X&Y, British band Coldplay has embraced criticism and turned it into a mandate for expanding their musical horizons. Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends, the band's newest album,represents an evolution in the band's style from its soft rock roots to a punchier, more dynamic sound.

For Viva la Vida,Coldplay relies less on the piano and guitar work characteristic of their previous albums to explore a rhythmic, more experimental tone. Similar to Sting's transition from rock to the world music stage, Coldplay has branched out from its love-song tradition to write diverse, internationally-influenced tunes for Viva la Vida.

As Rolling Stone writer Will Hermes points out, the band uses a variety of foreign tones in their new album, including a Persian santur on "Life in Technicolor;" an Arabic violin riff in "Yes;" and a flowing Far-Eastern lick on "Strawberry Swing."

Despite the changes in instrumentation, Coldplay stays true to their melodic forte by delivering the memorable choruses and exciting climaxes fans have come to expect from their music. The title track reflects this best as Chris Martin breezes through the verse before joining his bandmates in creating an upbeat, heart-pounding chorus.

Coldplay's albums have long been compared to those of U2 and Radiohead, and Viva la Vida continues the streak. But this shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, Coldplay's members have stated on several occasions that they are die-hard fans of both groups and even studied Radiohead's OK Computer before recording Viva.

Viva la Vida has its share of U2-esque moments, especially with guitarist Jonny Buckland's use of Edge-like guitar tones. Buckland's slashing riff on "Violet Hill" is reminiscent of The Edge's work on "Sunday Bloody Sunday," while the ambient overtones present in "Cemeteries of London" elicit memories of U2's "With or Without You" and "Bad."

The lively and percussive beat on "Lovers in Japan" flows similarly to U2's "Pride (In the Name of Love)," while the cutting guitar solo on "42" reminds one of Radiohead's "Electioneering" or even "Paranoid Android."

These similarities are not negative in any way, but rather keep Coldplay's Viva la Vida grounded in familiarity while simultaneously allowing the group to explore new ground.

Lyrically, Viva la Vida is a departure from Coldplay's previous albums, all of which featured emotionally-driven words reflecting feelings of love, fear, longing, and heartbreak. Viva marks the band's strongest foray into the political and religious realm, from loaded references to Christian mythos in "Viva la Vida" to a mockery of current leaders in "Violet Hill."

Each song is up for interpretation, but "Viva's" chorus-"I hear Jerusalem bells a-ringing/Roman cavalry choirs are singing"---provokes images of Christian dynasties, while "Violet Hill's" verse-"When the future's architectured/By a carnival of idiots on show/You'd better lie low"---sounds like a cry of disenchantment with politicians and world leaders.

As a whole, Viva la Vida is not "just another Coldplay album." The band has consciously created songs that differ from those of past records without losing its essence and alienating its fan base. Viva's songs are still catchy, melodic, and soulful, even if their subjects are no longer that of love and heartache. In the end, though, every successful band has a crossroad moment in which it wavers from its established formula to create something fresh. The Beatles had Sgt. Pepper's. The Beach Boys had Pet Sounds. And now Coldplay has Viva la Vida.