Coldplay Indulges Experimentation On Fourth Album

Coldplay lets its creative flag fly on its fourth studio album, "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends," due June 17 via Capitol. "We're still obsessed with making songs that can be sung to the rafters," frontman Chris Martin says. "We just wanted to present them differently."

To accomplish that goal, the group turned to co-producers Brian Eno and Markus Dravs, who adorn the material with grandiose embellishments the likes of which have never been heard before on a Coldplay album.

"Viva La Vida" begins with a strident instrumental, "Life in Technicolor," built as much on an arpeggiated synth foundation as it is on an acoustic guitar melody. The same instrumental is tacked onto the final song, "Death and All His Friends," as a hidden track dubbed "The Escapist."