The very fact that Coldplay [ tickets ] is in the running with the likes of U2, The Rolling Stones and the Dave Matthews Band for biggest band on the planet seems a bit ludicrous. The group plays soft rock, for crying out loud, and its lead singer spends much of his time stuck behind the keyboards.

There's little doubt, however, that Coldplay's third studio album, "X&Y," will further establish its place among pop music's top tier. It's a pretty, painstakingly produced effort that never veers from driving straight down the middle of the road. The music is so vastly accessible and crosses so many stylistic genres that it's hard to imagine anyone other than a Pantera fan not enjoying this batch of inoffensive and melodic pop.

Taking to heart the old adage "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," Coldplay [ tickets ] digs from some of the exact same mines that produced 2000's "Parachutes" and 2002's "A Rush of Blood to the Head." The 7-year-old British quartet continues to earn its Radiohead-light tag with "Square One," again seems to channel old-school Elton John on the piano ballad "What If?" and basically remakes its own hit "Clocks" in the single "Speed of Sound."

The band does inject a stronger, '80s New Wave feel in a few tracks, notably "White Shadow" and "The Hardest Part," but it's hardly anything worth pegging your pants about.

The new material translated very well to a live setting during the band's small-venue gig at The Fillmore in San Francisco back in early May. That should translate to a very hot summer for Coldplay when the band tours major U.S. amphitheaters starting in August.