Coldplay get a lot of stick from fans of 'real' rock. With frontman Chris Martin's placid demeanour and Earth-loving ways, the band's hardly going to throw a TV out of a window. Their usually upbeat lyrics and melodies are a far cry from the rebelliousness rock is supposed to represent.
That hasn't stopped the band from becoming one of the biggest of the century, and Mylo Xyloto is unlikely to lose them any fans.
The album was apparently inspired by graffiti and an anti-Nazi movement, but it feels mostly optimistic, not angry.
Tracks are split evenly into irresistibly bouncy numbers like Hurts Like Heaven, Charlie Brown and lead single Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall, and more pensive, dreamy offerings.
The first of these, Paradise, combines soaring strings, Morse-code-like beeps and clear lyrics. But it also highlights the album's, and maybe the band's, biggest weakness: a tendency to fill bars with broken-up words and 'ooooh, aaahhh, whoooaaahhs'.
Highlights include Major Minus and its gritty bass, and UFO, which, despite the sci-fi title, is a heartfelt acoustic ballad.