A heart that's full up like a landfill

This, then, is Coldplay's bid to avoid being remembered by music fans for their excellent (if not perfect) debut "Parachutes", and by the general populace for the great but unrepresentative hit, "Yellow". They don't disappoint.

"A Rush Of Blood To The Head" opens with "Politik". Given the short treatise on fair trade contained in the record's inner sleeve, you would expect a dose of anti-corporate vitriol. But that just isn't Coldplay's style: the lyrics are typically personal and intimate ("give me heart and give me soul/wounds that heal and cracks that fix/tell me your politik"), apart from the chorus' subtle call to arms ("open up your eyes"). The song immediately indicates a fuller, "bigger" sound than that of "Parachutes", from the pounding intro to the desolate piano at its climax (which sounds how "Yellow" would have done had it forgotten to take its Prozac). Big hit single "In My Place" follows, carried by an expansive drum sound, glorious guitar motif, and sing-along chorus ("yeah, how long must you wait for it?/yeah, how long must you pay for it?").

The disjointed acoustic guitar of "God Put A Smile Upon Your Face" possesses a distinctly un-Coldplay swagger, added to by Jonny Buckland's almost nonchalant motif on the electric. But the lyrics are still racked with doubt: "where do we go, nobody knows/I gotta say I'm on my way down". The same cannot be said of heartbreaking piano-led ballad "The Scientist", where we find Martin longing for a recently departed love ("questions of science/science and progress/do not speak as loud as my heart"). "Clocks" is also piano dominated, but more up-tempo (hence its being chosen for release as a single in America, European release "The Scientist" being considered too downbeat for the US market), with Martin wondering "am I part of the cure/or am I part of the disease?".

The Arab-esque guitar sound of "Daylight" owes a considerable debt to Echo and the Bunnymen, and there is a distinct trace of Radiohead in the verse's piano part. But its obviously derivative nature does not detract from the quality of the song, particularly in the gorgeous vocals of the chorus. "Green Eyes", a simple acoustic love song ("honey you are a rock/upon which I stand"), has been looked upon by some (including members of the band itself) as a weaker moment - God only knows why. The strings-backed "Warning Sign" is equally simple and equally effective, with its heartbreaking (a good adjective where Coldplay are concerned) chorus of "the truth is/I miss you". "A Whisper" is powered by choppy, jangling guitars and insistent piano. Though I don't dislike it, personally it is probably my least favourite track here.

Following on from it though is the title track. A towering epic, it has been described as "Coldplay's "Stairway To Heaven"", and with good reason. The verses are unusually brooding ("I'm gonna buy this place and see it burn/do back the things it did to you in return/said I'm gonna buy a gun and start a war/if you can tell me something worth fighting for"), and the chorus delicate, soaring but insistent ("I know the mistakes that I've made/see it all disappear without trace"). Perhaps one of the few flaws with the album is that "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" would have made a phenomenal closing track. As it is, we get "Amsterdam" (so named because it was written there). It is a piano ballad in the vein of "The Scientist", more subdued but almost as good ("I know I'm dead on the surface/but I am screaming underneath")The chorus of "time is on your side/it's on your side now/not pushing you down/and all around/it's no cause for concern" is oddly comforting. Much of the song is effectively Martin solo, until the rest of the band join in for the big finale.

After their acclaimed debut "Parachutes", Martin said he didn't know if the band had another album in them. Then they made this - the sort of album traditionally referred to as "an epic rock opus". Recently, Martin repeated his statement. So expect to see them return in two years with "OK Computer", "Grace", "Dark Side Of The Moon" and "Revolver" all seamlessly rolled into one.