Long time lurker. Should probably come stronger with a first post. Nonetheless, I'm a fan of great music. The direction a band decides to go in is of no consequence to me - I only hope it's great. This album, thus far from what I've heard, doesn't necessarily take a new direction, but rather an "Eno" direction. I agree with those who say it's still Coldplay - which means to me that it's still great. Even my least favorite from any Coldplay album is far, far above the quality of main stream. So whether it's a guitar, a synth, a drum machine, a piano...doesn't matter. I believe Coldplay to be one of the greatest.