Also of note this week is Silver Jews' Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea, which will be featured later in the week. Stay tuned.

Viva la Vida is supposedly a 'new direction' album for Coldplay, and for those that argue they are diluted Radiohead or The New U2, this is the Kid Achtung attempt at a revitalization. They hired Brian Eno to produce, and by all accounts have actively tried to stretch out a bit both musically and lyrically, entering (dare we say it) their experimental phase. Well, at least that's the premise. Don't press play expecting Wrong Way Up or Another Green World, though -- we're not talking about that kind of experimentation. We're closer to (not surprisingly) Achtung Baby's glittery temptation for long time U2 fans: nods to other genres, a bit of lyrical discontent, darker undertones, and an active glance at stadium rock from the perspective of mom-approved rattle and hummers. And if Achtung was a bunch of guys trying to chop down a Joshua tree, Viva la Vida is painting Yellow red in an attempt to remind us all that they're rock'n'roll, not Chamomile tea. So far, people who still buy records are impressed -- the album sold 300k in three days, and debuted at #1 on the U.K. album chart yesterday.

"Violet Hill" (YouTube
Coldplay MySpace
Coldplay Official

Though he famously created a heart-shaped garden in Christine McVie's yard (and charged it to her), and mentored Charles Manson before he became a murderer by proxy, Wilson is best known as a Beach Boy, little brother to Brian. He was the first from that outfit to release a solo album, though at the time he wasn't the least bit pleased with it. Wilson refused to tour following its release, claiming it had "no substance." Years of hard living shows in his soulful, rumbling voice, and his unique piano style (he was a drummer, and learned to play piano in his studio as he wrote the songs) takes center stage through much of the record. Erratic production styles trade turns through the album, offering both reverb-drenched chaos and closed-door intimacy. All of this combines to offer his voice, this yin-yang of both hardened rasp and ledge-leaning vulnerability, as the album's most evasive and attractive element. Pacific Ocean Blue is both temperamental and possessive, and its intricacies are slow to reveal themselves -- darkness overshadowed by gospel choirs, walls of sound hushed by hesitant white keys -- but when they do, they stick with you.

Dennis Wilson Official
"Sea of Heartbreak: Dennis Wilson's Majestic Solo Work" (Popmatters)

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Adem: Takes
Anthony David: Acey Deucey
Bowerbirds: Hymns for a Dark Horse (remastered with bonus tracks)
Bowerbirds: Hymns for a Dark Horse (reissued with bonus tracks) [vinyl]
The Briggs: Come All You Madmen
Bruce Haack: Haackula (reissue)
Butter 08: Butter 08 (reissue)
Byrds: Live at Royal Albert Hall 1971
Children of the Sixth Root Race: Songs From the Source
Chromeo: Fancy Footwork: Deluxe Edition
Clouds: We Are Above You
Coldplay: Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
Coldplay: Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends [vinyl]
Confide: Shout The Truth
Dan Tyminski: Wheels
Dennis Wilson: Pacific Ocean Blue - Legacy Edition
Eef Barzelay: Lose Big
Feelies: Only Life (reissue)
Genesis: From Genesis to Revelation (reissue with bonus tracks)
GridLink: Amber Gray
Head Like a Kite: There Is Loud Laughter Everywhere
Impossible Shapes: The Impossible Shapes
Interiors: The Interiors
Islands: Arm's Way [vinyl]
James Blackshaw: Litany of Echoes
jason Falkner: Bedtime With The Beatles 2
Jay Reatard: Always Wanting More / You Mean Nothing To Me 7"
Jeremy Jay: Alpharhythm 7" [vinyl]
Joshua James: The Sun Is Always Brighter [vinyl]
Judas Priest: Nostradamus
Kathy Griffin: For Your Consideration
Katy Perry: One of the Boys
King Khan and the Shrines: The Supreme Genius of King Khan
King Khan and the Shrines: The Supreme Genius of King Khan [vinyl]
Liquid Liquid: Liquid Liquid (reissue)
Low Lows: Shining Violence
Madonna: 4 Minutes (single) [vinyl]
Mick Hucknall: Tribute to Bobby
MIGGS: Unraveled
Mount Analog feat. Karl Blau: That's How I Got To Memphis 7" [vinyl]
My Brightest Diamond: A Thousand Shark's Teeth
My Brightest Diamond: A Thousand Shark's Teeth [vinyl]
Nada Surf: Lucky [vinyl]
Neon Neon: Stainless Style [vinyl]
NOMO: Ghost Rock
The Notwist: The Devil, You + Me
The Offspring: Ignition (remastered)
The Offspring: Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace
The Offspring: Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace [vinyl]
Paul Weller: Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Pogues: Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say...Pogue Mahone (5-CD import box set)
Ponytail: Ice Cream Spiritual
The Real Tuesday Weld: The End of the World
Reggie and the Full Effect: Last Stop: Crappy Town
The Runaways: Japanese Singles Collection (import)
Sally Shapiro: Remix Romance Vol. 2
Sian Alice Group: The Dusk Line EP
Sian Alice Group: The Dusk Line EP [vinyl]
Silver Jews: Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea
Silver Jews: Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea [vinyl]
Simple Minds: Themes, Vol. 5 (5-disc import box set)
Simple Minds: Themes, Vols. 1-5 (25-disc import box set)
Stars Like Fleas: Ken Burns Effect
Teddy Thompson: A Piece of What You Need
Thom Yorke: Harrowdown Hill/The Clock (import single) [vinyl]
Tilly and the Wall: O
Tilly and the Wall: O [vinyl]
Twine: Violets
Valient Thorr: Immortalizer
Valient Thorr: Immortalizer [vinyl]
Various Artists: The Love Guru (soundtrack)
War on Drugs: Wagonwheel Blues
War on Drugs: Wagonwheel Blues [vinyl]
Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer
Wolf Parade: At Mount Zoomer [vinyl]