Coldplay joined the ranks of the big leagues, bands like U2 and Radiohead, almost the moment that ‘Yellow’ hit the airwaves and they’ve been rejecting their stance as wet-eared fops ever since.

A case of tall poppy syndrome perhaps (after all it’s cool to hate Bono again), but what better way to gain some alternative credibility than hire production genius Brian Eno and push the boundaries a little?

Clearly Eno has contributed much, his usual penchant for vivid soundscapes, experimental approaches and rhythmic ingenuity did wonders for Bowie, Talking Heads et al. and all are present and accounted for here. The band’s main influences, again U2 and Radiohead, are still writ large upon their sound but Eno has pushed the four-piece to re-evaluate their arrangements and song structures thus their sound has matured as a result

The first taste of the album, the free internet download of “Violet Hill”, signalled a slight variation on X&Y’s widescreen rock, but the album offers much more varied surprises: opening with instrumental “Life in Technicolor” for instance, the rhythmic agitation of “Lost!” or the slide guitar and Middle Eastern strings of “Yes.” Another highlight is the progressive elements of “42” as its moves between three distinct sections, even if it does unconsciously borrow from Radiohead’s “Dollars & Cents.”

Viva La Vida does suffer from some unique flaws however, both “Lovers In Japan/Reign of Love” and “Yes” essentially offer ‘two tracks for the price of one’ in that they contain postludes which are entire songs in their own right that seem to have little reason to do with the song preceding it. Bizarre indeed and perhaps an attempt to fulfil the early promise of a more focussed album of only nine tracks. In actual fact its really thirteen.

Coldplay have certainly come a long way since the likes of “Yellow” and “In My Place” with their songwriting chops unscathed, but their fourth album isn’t quite the masterpiece they so clearly want it to be. The full title, “Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends” spells out Coldplay’s ambitions to tackle the big themes of life and death, but the album always seem to just fall short of an emotional epiphany.

Both title tracks are case in point. “Viva La Vida” contains a string quartet against a four to the floor pulse with lyrics about revolutionaries, missionaries and rulers of the world but it all feels a little contrived. Meanwhile “Death and All His Friends” hits a dizzy stride as the full band kicks in after some haunting piano, but the flight ends abruptly just when it should be taking off into the stratosphere.

Still it’s a good album, if not a great album, and one that would have any lesser band beaming with pride, but when you have such luminary (and experienced) contemporaries as Coldplay do, it’s obviously a little harder to meet expectations.

4 Eno-isms out of 5