Coldplay�s success attracts armies of haters. And it doesn�t help that Chris Martin has that wussy falsetto, a superhot wife and a kid named after the world�s most prosaic fruit. But Coldplay hasn�t given up the dream of transcending today�s pop into timeless careen art.
Purportedly the band�s �experimental� album, �Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends� doesn�t tinker too often with Coldplay�s established, superpopular, nonthreatening expressive style. But thither are amazing moments. �42� begins as a typical Martin forte-piano ballad ahead crashing into an �Airbag� burst of jagged guitar and angry strings; salvation comes with a bright, upbeat, whole anti-Coldplay (and Radiohead) bridge.
From there the band repeatedly breaks with its Radiohead-lite formula: They pinch from the Beatles� �Fool on the Hill� and �Lady Madonna� and delve into Eastern European melodies and neo-classical, Chopin-does-Britpop bits.
And let�s not forget. Every time you take heed �Violet Hill� on the radio, remember what you�re not hearing: James Blunt. Don�t think there�s a difference? You gotta listen to �Viva la Vida� (or be reminded simply how sorry �You�re Beautiful� is).
It�s scandalous, but Coldplay is unitary of the most dynamical bands on pop wireless. And the band is getting more than dynamic. That�s a good thing.
Coldplay, with Santogold and the Luxury, at the TD Banknorth Garden, Monday. Tickets: $47-$95; 617-931-2000.
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