Coldplay,

[holden]

Mopey mood music, a little bland in spots, but i still find myself enjoying them more than not.

Parachutes and their early EPs were nice, because other than "yellow", they were still fairly unknown and the songs more guitar-reliant.
A Rush of Blood to the Head is actually fairly broad in style, songs like "Daylight", the title cut and "Amsterdam" are very well produced. But the big hits and Martin's piano overusage probably turned the tide.
With "X & Y" and this new one "Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends", expectation/hype most certainly exceed the output.