Collegiate Times

Over the past decade, the never excessive Coldplay frontman Chris Martin has cooed listeners with his not-so-masculine lyrics and all-too-familiar falsettos. As a member of the contemporary U.K. invasion, Coldplay has sold over 30 million albums and has toured extensively, playing to a global fan base.

I was fortunate enough to catch Coldplay on its X&Y Tour at Nissan Pavilion last year and was drawn into the spectacle of lights and sounds. As "Yellow" blared from the stage, thousands of balloons dropped to the unsuspecting crowd below - giving much excitement and audience connection. Martin would swing a light bulb in circles and run around the pavilion hoping to 'fix us.' Has he?

The band's fourth studio album, "Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends" is a bold statement on life, loss, war, religion and an inward perspective of life's ultimate prize - death. The album is a true representation of a band that has been parachuting its way down out of its comfort zone. The cover depicts white paint slashed over a war-enveloped painting by Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo, setting a tone for what's inside.

Coldplay took a risk when it chose producer Brian Eno. Eno, whose resume includes David Bowie, Paul Simon, and U2 (shocker), is the lamb to Coldplay's tuna fish. The band was eager to improve its sound at the most fundamental level and needed someone who corresponded with those goals. The result is a sound that is more polished and refined than ever, proving that choosing Eno was probably the best choice the band has made.

The album's ambitious journey begins with "Life in Technicolor," a definite crowd pleaser and one I could see pumping up the audience at sold-out venues. Completely acoustic guitar driven, Martin imprints, "baby, it's a violent world." What better way to set a frame of mind for a highly political voyage?

The album then leads to "Cemeteries in London," where Martin says, "God is in the houses and God is in my head and all the cemeteries in London, I see God come in my garden, but I don't know what he said, for my heart it wasn't open, not open."

Guitarist Jonny Buckland riffs his way into organ-oriented "Lost!" where Martin warns to not judge his shine.

The band has always been pretty consistent in choosing its singles. "Yellow," "Clocks" and "Fix You" have all been relatively great songs. I have to give Coldplay enormous credit for constantly fueling its universal appeal. Viva La Vida's "Violet Hill" retains this consistency in a smarter and more aware fashion.

Martin bangs the piano as his frigid testimony claims, "it was a long and dark December when the banks became cathedrals and the fog became God, priests clutched onto bibles and went out to fit their rifles and the cross was held aloft."

Soon after, the ambience is cut off with Buckland's much-needed guitar riff. Spiritual? Yes. But religious? Well, Martin would surely believe that's relative.

"Death and All His Friends" tells a tale of recycled revenge and subsequent redemption. The ambience layers well with Martin's unyielding ivory tickling. The drums kick in and the guitar's palpable reverb makes it whole. This gem is only better complemented by a totally different minimalist second half.

For once, Coldplay is not using its previous albums as a template for their next. A new and improved X&Y is surely the last thing listeners have yearned for. Coldplay is finding completeness in its sound and are beginning to find where it stands as one of the biggest bands of the decade.

Yes, the iTunes commercials are extremely overplayed, but the long-awaited change is welcome as long as the audience connection still resides. The grittier guitar cleans up shop and the paternal echoes are ever so slowly diminishing.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing.