Is Coldplay really the next U2? That seems to be the question that begs to be asked. When U2 made the jump from arenas to stadiums, it was during that monumental leap between The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree albums. Well, A Rush Of Blood To The Head brought Coldplay to the arena forefront, but will X & Y be the album that brings them to that stadium playing elite? Only time will tell, but if I had to guess yes or no right now it would have to be no. Not because X & Y isn't good, it's actually quite good. But that is exactly where the problem lies: X & Y is really good, but not great nor grand. It doesn't have those epic landmarks and a feel of timelessness that The Joshua Tree had. In all truthfulness, X & Y just feels like a lesser continuation of A Rush Of Blood, but all in all, it's still a really good album. If I only had the first half of this album to listen to, I would have said that X & Y had the firepower to take Coldplay to that next level. "Square One" is an extremely powerful opener, and "White Shadows" and "Talk" show just how far Johnny Buckland has come as a lead guitarist. Buckland's guitar licks totally steal the show away on those two tracks and away from Chris Martin's usual scene-stealing mugging. The self-titled track has a strangely beautiful texture to it, and first single "Speed Of Sound" will definitely become this album's "Clocks." It's after "Speed Of Sound" however where this album falters just a smidge. The last five tracks are all decent, but nothing as good as the first half, and nowhere near as good as anything from A Rush Of Blood. No, I honestly don't think X & Y will be the album that turns Coldplay into a stadium success, but I do think there is plenty here to keep Chris Martin and company in the good graces of arenas for years to come.