Pitchfork

It's been well over a year since we last found cause to mention Coldplay in these pages, and whatever your feelings for the soft-rock Goliath, here we are again with our annual (not really) Coldplay roundup.

Coldplay have named the follow-up to 2005's X&Y, and according to the band's website it is called...wait for it...Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends. WTF? To be fair, Chris Martin revealed the Frida Kahlo-inspired title to RollingStone.com recently as just Viva la Vida, and I'm sure the people marketing this thing will make sure that's the name that sticks.

The RollingStone.com report cites June 17 as the release date for Viva. As previously reported, Brian Eno helmed the producer's chair for Livin' la Viva la Vida. Joining him: Markus Dravs, who has worked with Björk and the Arcade Fire, among others.

The Coldplay boys claim they're finalizing the album tracklist right now, but they have revealed a bunch of track titles in various website dispatches, including "Lovers in Japan", "Strawberry Swing", "Famous Old Painters", "Glass of Water", "Lost!", "Cemeteries of London", "Violet Hill", "Poppy Fields", "42", "Yes!", "Leftrightleftrightleft", "Rainy Day", and "Prospekt's March". That said, Martin and the gang have also expressed a desire to keep their new album to nine tracks (and 42 minutes' length), so perhaps a bunch of these will wind up B-sides.

So, what can we look forward to musically? Offered the band on its website: "As you'd expect with Brian Eno, there's experimentation and exploration. But the music still has integrity. It's real and honest. There's no posturing or bombast."

Also: "The sights, sounds and flavours of Latin America and Spain have definitely been infused into this album...No maracas or castanets, but a vibrancy and colourfulness that owes much to the atmospheres of Buenos Aires and Barcelona. The effect is subtle but important."

Many a live show will no doubt follow, but for now Coldplay have just three: a spot at the inaugural Pemberton Festival in Canada and two appearances at Japan's Summer Sonic shindig.

Coldplay, meet hot summer:

07-27 Pemberton, British Columbia - Pemberton Festival
08-09 Osaka, Japan - Maishima (Summer Sonic Festival)
08-10 Tokyo, Japan - Marine Stadium (Summer Sonic Festival)