New production team takes Coldplay to the next level

The members of

Coldplay

had a hard act to follow - their own. They've practically written the textbook on modern emo pop, with many emulators walking in their footsteps. So where do the guys go now?

To "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends" (Capitol, A-).

Front man Chris Martin remains obsessed by his favorite theme - emotional weightlessness, the sense of hovering above the fray without a clear direction or connection home. But the music on their fourth long player is lots more varied and textured, at turns rocking harder (thus seeming weightier, if not grounded), then soaring more grandly than in the past.

Credit for this evolution goes largely to Coldplay's new hired hands, big-statement producers Brian Eno (often the right-hand man and aura provider for the anthemic U2) and Markus Dravs, who strives for high art with the Canadian troupe Arcade Fire.

And man, what a glorious brew these guys and the band have cooked up here, from the guitar-strummy folk fable of "Cemetaries of London," in which Martin allows, "I see God in my garden but I don't know what he said," to the organ-heavy testimony "Lost" and the U2-harkening "Viva La Vida," already ingrained in your head via iTunes commercials, wherein Martin declares in unusually political fashion that "the king is dead." (The album artwork also suggests a revolution, but mostly it's of the spirit here.)

The ghost of John Lennon hovers in the strings- and piano-driven "42." For added dramatics, that song (like several others) abruptly changes tempo mid-stream, cranked up with choir, sinewy, Indian-style guitar and a pumping chorus.

Another grand evolver, the bluesy "Yes," leaves us with Chris mumbling, "Save me." Its clear, though, that he and his bandmates have already met their rescuers.

AT THE TOP: Broadway has a new champion, the musical "In the Heights," which won Tonys for best musical and best score Sunday. Just in time comes the double-CD, original-cast album (Ghostlight Records, B+), which underscores the welcome change and fresh adventure this show represents.

"ITH" is a vibrant portrait of life in Manhattan's Hispanic Washington Heights neigborhood, sparkling with the sounds of salsa and Latin pop, reggaeton and rap. Sure, there's a bit of Broadway in Lin-Manual Miranda's effervescent score. But when you're trying to relate characters and plot through songs (as the show does pretty well) certain old-school theatrical devices are still the best.

YOU KISSED WHAT?!? Shock of all shocks, Katy Perry declares, "I Kissed a Girl," and all of America (or at least MTV, VH1 and FUSE viewers, and iTunes buyers) is in a tizzy. On her album called "One of the Boys" (Capitol, B-), Perry also is pushing hot buttons with "Ur So Gay," sneering at a metrosexual who cares more about fashion and makeup than he does about her.

Jill Sobule scored with a different "I Kissed a Girl" song years ago - and she really meant it as a coming-out anthem, whereas Perry (who whines like Avril Lavigne) is just experimenting for laughs and shock value. Granted, her nu-pop rock has surface sheen and wit. And, I confess, the snappy give and take of "Hot n Cold" pulled me in. But will we still love this sassy summertime fling when its time for school? The Magic 8 ball says, "*&#@ off."

PG POP: Relax, parents. Even the littlest music fans can get behind the soundtrack to "Camp Rock" (Disney, C). In fact, they may be the only ones who will.

It's from the factory that brought us "Hannah Montana" and "High School Musical" and will surely be flogged to death on the Disney Channel all summer long. But even with network stars the Jonas Brothers up front in the story (Joe Jonas gets sent back to his old music training camp to regain his humility), and songs by a bunch of "professionals," this one lacks a certain - how should I put this - quality. Only "This Is Me" deserves a download.

HEAD CASES: Supergrass lives up to its name with "Diamond Hoo Ha" (Astralwerks, A-), a full count of psychedelic pop rocks with twisted lyrics, snappy tunes and most excellent, buzzy guitar lines.

I wouldn't mind spending a couple of hours in a bar with Brandon and Travis. Their choppy, jammy sound sometimes evokes Phish and Steely Dan. Check 'em out on their aptly named "Vinyl Soup" (Creek Slide, B).

Eef Barzelay, best known as the Israeli-born, U.S.-based front guy for alt-country dudes Clem Snide, goes the introspective singer/songwriter route on his second solo album, "Lose Big" (429 Records, B+). But it's his wry, sly word play on "The Girls Don't Care" and "How Dare They (Crush the Party in My Mind)" that got me to sit up and pay attention.

There's just two insane clowns - on guitar and drums - in Jekylnhyde. Still, these Philly dudes make a whole lot of fuss and noise on their rap-inflected, shock-rock set of the same name (Panhandle, C). Best(?!?) of the bunch is a charmer called "Pedophile Profile." Consider yourself warned.

ENDANGERED SPECIES: Soul-pop veteran Chante Moore returns in primo fashion on "Love the Woman" (Peak Records, B+), offering good life lessons (like "Always Gonna Be Something") and only one bad example, a cover of the adultery-spotting "Guess Who I Saw Today."

Blues fans will be in seventh heaven with two killer new releases. Singer/guitarist Walter "Wolfman" Washington is the happiest man alive, "Doin' the Funky Thing" (Zohomusic, A-) - a horn-scorched stomper as indebted to James Brown as it is to B.B. King. And "Pinetop Perkins and Friends" (Telarc, B+) finds the 94-year-old boogie-woogie piano player and singer in amazing form, trading licks with the likes of Eric Clapton, Jimmy Vaughan and King, who declares, "I can't sing behind you. You're too good!"

LOST AND FOUND: A new edition of Dennis Wilson's "Pacific Ocean Blues" (Legacy, B+) expands on the only solo album released by the Beach Boys drummer with a bonus disc of previously unreleased tunes. The grand and balmy productions often harken to the Beach Boys' best work on Warner Bros.

Also out today, a newly unearthed "lost" album by horn rockers Chicago, "Stone of Sisyphus" (Rhino, B-), that's been on the shelves since the early 1990s. The standout is Jason Scheff's "Bigger than Elvis," an homage to his dad, Presley's bass player. *