A delicate guitar figure, that familiar yearning vocal, a winning simple melody. Yes, that's right, this is the omnipresent sound of Coldplay. 'In My Place' has all the required ingredients which guarantees maximum airplay. It occupies the territory that attracts two types of music fans; the teenagers who find indie a bit too weird and see this as alternative music and those thirty-somethings who lost interest in the indie scene about ten years ago due to family and work commitments, and only now have time for the most commercial of artists. 'The Scientist' could well be taking over the radio next as this track employs another simple tactic; a slowly unwinding subtle piano melody that should appeal to most casual listeners. It may surprise some but Coldplay's sound has progressed encompassing a much meatier sound on occasions. The noisy opening to 'Politik' is supposedly a two-finger salute to the doubters who think they're too soft although it's not the most convincing statement of intent. Better is 'Clocks', essentially 'The Scientist's unruly, more aggressive brother but the best is possibly the title track with Martin for once abandoning his trademark falsetto for something ultimately darker and more satisfying and thankfully the guitarists back this up to make a sprawling anthem. The University-educated foursome will probably never achieve the critical acclaim of - to pluck a name out of the air - Radiohead, because they do sound so comforting and safe. The fact is, of the eleven tracks, only a few could be described as humdrum and inconsequential but much of 'A Rush Of Blood To The Head' presents a convincing case for them being an albums' band.