If you look closely into Coldplay’s catalog of music, you’ll see that in album after album, the band has developed a knack for pushing alternative rock to new limits. Its 2005 release X&Y did just that, and its success put all eyes on the group to see what their next move would be.

On its fourth release, Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, the band looks to set a new standard by creating music that is not only transcendent but timeless as well.

Starting off the album is the brilliantly moving “Life in Technicolor.” Without lyrics, Coldplay presents a dream-like melody that captivates from beginning to end, with an uplifting feeling as the record opens up.

Almost abruptly, the direction in music takes a 180-degree turn with the looming “Cemeteries in London.” Singer Chris Martin’s lyrics become a soul-searching trek witnessing an abstract world. He sings, “At night they would go walking ’til the breaking of the day / The morning is for sleeping / Through the dark streets they go searching to see God in their own way / Save the nighttime for your weeping, your weeping.”

The haunting effort of “42” provides a provoking darker side for Viva La Vida. Martin’s lyrics prove this when he sings, “Those who are dead are not dead / They’re just living in my head.” Halfway through the song, the tempo changes to a quickened pace and the instrumentation becomes distorted, channeling Coldplay’s inner Radiohead.

The iTunes commercial that you most certainly have seen on TV cannot come close to doing justice to “Viva La Vida,” the title track and most recent single. Almost with perfection, the transition from verse to chorus displays a masterful technique, as a towering collage of sound comes thundering out afterward. Without a doubt, “Viva La Vida” is the highlight of the album.

Echoing a better outlook on a new day, “Strawberry Swing” provides a warm and calming feeling that was missing from Viva La Vida. But at times the melody clashes with the laid-back approach in Martin’s singing.

Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends is a solid performance from Coldplay that fits in nicely with its previous three albums. The 13-track album provides a tight-knit story line that will most certainly be among top 10 lists by year end: Coldplay deserves the expected success of Viva La Vida.