In May, iTunes launched a very purple, ambient lit commercial with a musical backdrop of pounding strings and a familiar voice.

Others might have first heard the intro to “Viva la Vida” on the MTV Music Awards this summer; either way, listeners were hooked before the chorus was finished and Coldplay fans the world over had a new “Clocks” on their hands.

Just as a speaker struggles with raw emotion, a listener struggles with raw music, which is what dominates Coldplay’s latest release, “Viva la Vida,” a new twist on Coldplay’s sound which even fans could agree was in dire need of an upgrade.

While there are several disputes as to whether Coldplay plagiarized “Viva la Vida” from The Creaky Boards’ ironically titled “The Songs I Didn’t Write,” and further still ripped off Joe Satriani’s “If I Could Fly,” fans are still praising the familiar work as an original sound.

Even though the songs are made for stadium filled crowds to chant along with, the latest record is undeniably experimental. That sound is mainly attributed to the new stripped down attitude of the album (along with the recently aggressive tone of guitarist Jonny Buckland), and a collection of eclectic producers, among them most, Brian Eno.

Eno is well known for taking artists back to their roots and building up from there, giving the album its world-music vibe to the frequency of U2, which the band admittedly aspires to emulate. Coincidentally, Eno produced with U2 on well-known albums “The Unforgettable Fire” and “The Joshua Tree.”

Coldplay front man Chris Martin once again has an uncanny ability to sense when he should bow out and let the music take center stage.

Still, I wish that Martin had been more aggressive with the political/ethical themes in the album, for it is far easier to agree or disagree with someone when they’ve made a clear statement.

Most Coldplay fans just dig the music, which is fine, but others wanted a little more backbone and less political correctness.

Favorite tracks: “Viva la Vida,” “The Cemeteries of London,” “Violet Hill.”