New Coldplay - "Violet Hill" (Plus: Album Artwork Info)

Judging by the striking cover work from their upcoming fourth record), Viva La Vida: Or, Death and All His Friends (perhaps somebody in the band is taking a cue from either Roman Polanski or Stanley Kubrick?), British quartet Coldplay have got the struggles of wars and battles on their mind. No idea as to why that's the case. However, it's no surprise, then, that when the Chris Martin-led group's first single begins with the singer stating plainly that "It was a long and dark December" over a glacier-slow crescendo of ambient synthesizer, he's referring to a romance gone awry. This is, after all, a Coldplay song were talking about here.

However, after about 30 seconds or so, "Violet Hill" starts to resemble one of the group's more well-known anthemic numbers, but with a few key differences. Martin's voice now sounds almost Dylan-esque, the guitars are fuzzier, and the mood is the most apocalyptic sounding the group has ever been. Despite the sonic re-decorations, the group still maintains a workman-like dedication to song form; choruses are epic as ever, Not only that, but the closing lament of "If you love me, why won't you let me know" has a populist bent. Overall, "Violet Hill" is a reasonably successful change of pace for the band. The track won't make you want to recite Coldplay lyrics as gospel. But it also won't make you thumb your nose at the church as you pass it, either.

Viva La Vida is out in June.

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(Jonathan Graef)