Coldplay

At first, Coldplay was burdened -- along with Travis, Doves, Muse, and a few other young bands busting out of post-OK Computer Britain -- by various media types with the dreaded designation "the new Radiohead." You can hear why: The widescreen melan-choly of their first two albums wears the influence of Thom Yorke and company like a comfortable old overcoat, without shame or apology. But the influence of Jeff Buckley and U2 is nearly as strong, and singer Chris Martin's empathetic, often falsetto vocals are all his own.

Gangly, awkward, and charming as only hypersensitive teenagers can be, the Coldplay of Parachutes obviously had some growing-up issues to deal with. Both the songs and the playing here can sound tentative at times. But that just makes the great bits all the more magical, and there are plenty of those: the ambient guitar textures of "Don't Panic," the swooning chorus of "Shiver," and the U2-style singalong special "Yellow," to name but three.

A Rush of Blood to the Head delivers on the promise of Parachutes and then some. Tracks like "Politik," "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face," and "Warning Sign" are exhilarating epics that ache with beauty. And yet even as the music's ambition balloons, there's still something pleasantly unassuming at its heart. Coldplay knows it's good but doesn't want to get bigheaded about it -- a refreshing attitude that may well make it one of the new millennium's prime contenders. (MAC RANDALL)

From 2004's The New Rolling Stone Album Guide