Coldplay - Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
A conceptual change marks this new album. Critics can say what they want, but Chris Martin and Co., with the help of Brian Eno, were adventurous this time around. Sounding strong, epic and full of grandeur as well as artificial and over-produced at times. Coldplay liked silent work and there isn't much of that in this 4th studio record.
It's not one of those albums you want to listen to with small PC speakers. "Lovers in Japan/Reign of love", Martin cultivates the melodies and a lot of them fight the bases. Johnny Buckland's guitar is reminiscent of The Edge's from U2, who also worked with Eno.
Most of the times in which Chris sings along with his piano, he breaks the mold previously set, always of effects and different guitar sounds.
"Yes" pushes a "Kashmir" like sound with oriental strings and a hypnotic sound to it and it changes in the middle to a guitar song with an ethereal voice over the guitars. As drummer Will Champion said in an interview, they didn't hesitate to try anything. The cords also dominate "Viva la Vida" catchy tune, easy to whistle to in which talks about a powerful man who ruled the World and now roams the streets that once belonged to him.
The guitars of "Violet Hill" has an attack you won't hear in any other song, a very well constructed tune and a strong single... You'll have to listen to the album. Coldplay fans have to love it and non-fans too as Coldplay is an everyone's band.

P.S. "Viva la Vida" is a painting which portraits the dead nature of fruits by Mexican legend Frida Kahlo, but the album cover is the painting "Liberty Leading the People" by French romantic painter Eugène Delacroix.