• POP

COLDPLAY

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends

5 Capitol

*** ½

At first listen to Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, Coldplay's fourth studio album, you might wonder: What is wrong with Chris Martin?

The singer seems to be in a bad place, judging from many of his lyrics, which seem full of angst and obsessed with one's shortcomings. But upon repeated plays, and as Martin's glorious melodies fully sink in, the sun begins to peek out from behind all the clouds.

Producer Brian Eno (U2, Talking Heads) shows why he's considered the father of modern ambient music -- his eerie, atmospheric touch and unorthodox song structures pervade the album, allowing the band to step out of its verse-chorus-verse comfort zone. Coldplay is clearly bent on stretching its musical boundaries, and the result is not as easily accessible as previous works, but it's ultimately thrilling.

Echoing guitar and swelling synths add a sense of foreboding to the otherwise lively, sing-song Cemeteries of London;a thunderous bass drum, hand claps and church organ elevate Lost! beyond a mere pop song; and a complex musical interlude that recalls classical compositions by John Adams liberates Death and All His Friends from typical morose piano ballad.

Elsewhere, Martin struggles with temptation on Yes (``It's not easy when she turns you on . . . God knows I'm trying my best/But I'm just so tired of this loneliness''); mourns lost ones on 42 (``Those who are dead are not dead/They're just living in my head''), which breaks out of its dirge midway through with a crashing, jagged, Radiohead-style guitar jam; and bemoans a fall from grace on the compelling, string-driven first single Viva La Vida: ``I used to rule the world/Seas would rise when I gave the word/Now in the morning I sleep alone/Sweep the streets I used to own.''

But on Lovers In Japan/Reign of Love,Martin is inspired to declare, ''I have no doubt/One day the sun will come out.'' Beyond the album's litany of human weaknesses, its true message is hopeful: Mankind will forge on despite all its flaws.

Pod Picks: Cemeteries of London, 42, Viva La Vida.

-- MICHAEL HAMERSLY

mhamersly@MiamiHerald.com

WALTER BECKER

Circus Money

5 Over 12/Mailboat

***

Walter Becker won't win awards for productivity. Circus Money is only his second solo effort in 14 years and his parent group, Steely Dan, has only issued two studio albums since 1980.

But maybe Becker's music is like fine wine, it just needs time to age. Circus Money is vintage late-period Steely Dan. Though he's working with producer Larry Klein (who is coming off an Album of the Year Grammy win for producing Herbie Hancock) instead of longtime Steely Dan partner Donald Fagen, Becker captures the precise sophistication -- and audiophile finesse -- of Steely Dan albums like Gaucho. But, inspired by reggae and Jamaican dub rhythms, Becker gives his rhythm section a different kind of workout.

Becker's character sketches also remain quirky and oddly compelling. There's Betsy Button on Door Number Two, who feeds the Vegas slots with her paper cup of nickels in vain. ''She needs three bars, three cherries, three lemons, three pigs, a date with Elvis, a new car'' Becker sings.

On Downtown Canon two jaded Los Angelenos -- one ''a half-crazed painter fool in some damn bar'' -- fuel their ''cocaine dreams and Chiba-Chiba nights'' by ''chasing sensations to remind us who we are.'' Becker, who abdicates the lead vocal spot in Steely Dan to Fagan, does a fine job reflecting loss in Paging Audrey.

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