Photo by Takay

In a slightly sketchy part of north London, a cockney blonde whom we'll call Myrtle smokes a cigarette in the driveway of the plain white-fronted former bakery that serves as recording studio, office, and grown-up clubhouse for the members of one of the worlds' biggest bands, Coldplay. Myrtle says she works at the office next door, and when asked if the guys are good neighbors, she hedges.

"I guess so. They're pretty quiet. Always comin' in and out with guitar cases and such." Raising one eyebrow, she confides, "They say they're musicians -- but you never hear any music comin' from there. Could be selling heroin for all I know. Or maybe they are musicians. I think they're just crap at what they do, is what I think."

On this last point, Myrtle, despite her ignorance, speaks for many. Though few acts inspire such devotion -- since their 2000 debut, Parachutes, Coldplay have sold more than 32 million records while wildly loyal fans pack their live shows, which resemble artfully lit New Year's parties -- the group is often dismissed for churning out overly earnest, midtempo "hokum" (per the eviscerating New York Times review of their last album, 2005's X&Y). A recent Travelodge hotel survey declared Coldplay the band most likely to put people to sleep; and a sneering dig in The 40-Year-Old Virgin ("You know how I know you're gay? You like Coldplay.") inspired howls of recognition.

The band's fourth album, Viva La Vida, answers critics with canny experimentation, honed under the guidance of producer Brian Eno (guru to U2, David Bowie, and Talking Heads, among many others), with help from Markus Dravs (Arcade Fire's Neon Bible) and Rik Simpson. In the arc of Coldplay's career, Viva La Vida may be their Achtung Baby, on which U2 tweaked their self-serious image and explored new sounds in an idiom that still lured stadium crowds. Early response to Viva suggests that the experiment succeeds (see review on page 91). Even the most bilious bloggers reluctantly praised the album's first single, "Violet Hill," which bridges Coldplay's old and new styles, with Chris Martin's pretty piano picking its way across ruthless industrial beats. (Six hundred thousand people snagged the free download on the day of the single's release, crashing the band's website.) But the second single, "Vida La Vida," better showcases the group's new style: A big, blasting waterfall of wide-wale strings, timpani rolls, and heart-out harmonies make this the song you'd want playing in the background if you ever got the chance to slide down a mile-long hallway in stocking feet.