When you try your best but you don't succeed (Coldplay)

Two new albums under high rotate in Casa Wozza are new releases by Snow Patrol and Coldplay.

I have been a fan of both bands from release one and word "GO".

Each have managed to get themselves offside with the music press by selling gadzillions of units. Somehow that equates to mundane music in some people's eyes.

I must admit it took me a while to actually buy Parachutes, the first Coldplay album (and Songs For Polarbears, the first Snow Patrol album).

Parachutes was extremely popular and that always makes me a little suspicious - I don't like jumping on a bandwagon and I do have some aspects of the music snob - loving bands that no one else has heard of.

But I saw the first two Coldplay CDs in Tower Records in Bangkok and relaxed. I shouldn't have worried (or listened to the music snobs). Both albums are superb.

I also go against most critics position on X and Y - their third album. It's actually my favourite album of theirs and reminds me of driving around southern England in 2006.

The new one, Mylo Xyloto, has been on high rotate since I bought it. Purely because nothing seemed to stand out for ages. With repetition has come some clarity and some finer appreciation of the work, but it's not shaping up as their best work by a long chalk.

And what a crap cover. There is a strong self destructive streak in the band that emerges from time to time and never more obviously than with this shokingly pathetic cover. What the hell were they thinking?

Ditto x10 for the latest Snow Patrol album. It's okay and better than A Hundred Million Suns which was pretty dire. Looks increasingly like the band peaked with Final Straw and Eyes Open.

Gary Lightbody has a great voice but for some reason - too much success maybe - he doesn't seen willing or able to write those great melodies that were on those two albums. A case of McCartneyitis?

I've had Fallen Empires (how very apt) on rotate in the car and so far zilch. But I will persevere and I live in hope.

Meanwhile I was thrilled to find out in a Mojo interview that Chris Martin's favourite Coldplay song (more accurately he was asked for the song he'd written that he felt proudest of) is the same as mine from X and Y - Fix You.