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While Coldplay’s new album “Viva La Vida” or “Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends” isn’t the best Coldplay album ever made, it’s a refreshing branch-out for a band that’s already deemed in most circles as legendary. A branch-out album like this where you can hear that these guys aren’t necessarily in their comfort zone isn’t as unique to the band’s identity as “X&Y” or “A Rush of Blood to the Head”, but it’s completely necessary for a legacy and will always be remembered as a great Coldplay record. Producer Brian Eno stretched Coldplay sonically into his familiar U2 territory and it works wonderfully throughout the record. The title track “Viva La Vida” is turning out to be another huge Coldplay single, and everybody’s favorite track on the record “Strawberry Swing” is next in line for that honor. Other candidates for hit singles off the record include “Lost!” and “42!” Other than that I’m sure there will be something that catches on but on this particular Coldplay not every song is radio ready. That’s actually a bit of a welcome change from “X&Y” which was Coldplay’s single record. Coldplay’s latest isn’t their most personal, but it is more artistic than some previous efforts. The sound generated by Eno adds a certain element to Chris Martin’s vocals. And anytime an album finishes how it starts… it dies how it’s born and that’s a pretty powerful statement to make. “Viva La Vida” isn’t the best Coldplay record, but has every right to be claimed as a fan-favorite because of how much the band branched out and how they were able to make that work. It’s the most talked about album of the summer and with good reason, it’s a solid piece of art that everybody should take the time to listen through.