Coldplay, Hieroglyphics, Puffy Amiyumi, The White Stripes

COLDPLAY
What more can you do after reaching the top of your field? Best to ask Coldplay, who, following their career-defining 2002 release A Rush of Blood to the Head didn’t put out new material until last month’s X&Y. The latest album, although fitting in with previous works of the U.K. piano-pop rocksters, has been criticized by some because it wasn’t as divergently creative and groundbreaking as the previous two. X&Y still features much of what got the quartet onto their pedestal in the first place — lead singer/guitarist/piano man Chris Martin’s emotionally revealing lyrics and high-pitched melancholic voice, guitarist Jon Buckland’s wide open and weepy guitar lines and catchy pop riffs, drummer Will Champion’s solid, straight-ahead drumming, and bassist Guy Berryman’s, well, invisibility. Sorta sounds like a familiar makeup to another popular rock band from Europe. Something else that Coldplay has in common with U2 is that current world tour ticket sales have remained steady despite a poor popular album reception. (Appearing at Alpine Valley on Aug. 13) –text: Josh Zanger–photo: Kevin Westenberg

HIEROGLYPHICS
Hieroglyphics emerged in the early 1990s as a Left Coast alternative to The Chronic-fueled gangsterism of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Both extremes were equally fresh, but while Dre and Snoop refined the edges of NWA and Compton’s Most Wanted for mainstream digestion, Hiero lyrically flexed wit and defiance from Oakland’s streets — and combined that with borough-influenced, boom bap production sensibilities. Had the crew hailed from Jamaica, Queens or East Flatbush, they might have been just another flash of dreads and XXXL clothing. Since 1998’s 3rd Eye Vision, no solo or collective output has matched the brilliance of the Souls of Mischief’s ‘93 ‘Til Infinity or select work from Del and Pep Love, but having them and fellow members Casual and Domino still coexisting is a testament to the strength of the Hiero Imperium. (Appearing at Abbey Pub on Aug. 26) –text: Ronnie Reese

PUFFY AMIYUMI
After nearly a decade as Japan’s premier pop outfit, Yumi Yoshimura and Ami Onuki — the duo better known as Puffy Amiyumi i — will be toting its J-pop hooks into the Windy City to set up shop at the Vic Theatre. Centered on mainstream success, Puffy Amiyumi i have unleashed a successful TV series, clothing lines, shoes, and a horde of big-selling albums in Japan. With burgeoning sales in China, an alternate version of a recent album was released featuring Mandarin lyrics. And fresh off of their animated series for Cartoon Network and the release of the critically acclaimed Nice on Bar/None Records in 2003, followed by PMRX Turbo on Sony International, they’ve created a buzz in the States as well. Their current tour features five shows in major markets as Puffy Amiyumi i looks to cement its hold on indie-pop and perhaps to establish a more mainstream following in the U.S. Expect genre bending within a Japanese pop context, candy-coated lyrics and, well, puffy hooks. (Appearing at The Vic on Aug. 27) –text: Jacob Knabb–photo: Kenji Miura

THE WHITE STRIPES
I’m sure the notion has been bandied around: You take Edward Scissorhands, stuff him into some tight Santa pants, teach him some rudimentary blues scales and you have something that (at least from the outside) resembles Jack White. But what’s on the inside? After all, this indignant young man with the imposing stage presence just released an album called Get Behind Me Satan. And if that doesn’t get your toes tapping, then consider for a moment that the record was recorded within two weeks and written primarily on piano, marimba and acoustic guitar. Loaded with perverse and inspired imagery, this latest invention from The White Stripes is an eerie and perplexing glimpse into what Jack White describes as “characters and the ideal of truth.” A far cry from the peppermint candy symbolism of childhood and innocence, Get Behind Me Satan is a compelling solicitation. But is it support or deliverance that the Stripes are asking for? (Appearing at the Auditorium Theatre on Aug. 29, 30 and 31) –text: Kevin Klein–photo: Ewen Spencer