Does Coldplay deserve the critics’ cold shoulder?

On Tuesday, new releases are expected in stores from Coldplay, Wolf Parade and former Beach Boy Dennis Wilson.

COLDPLAY, “VIVA LA VIDA OR DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS”

Capitol Records

Critics, it seems, are supposed to detest Coldplay.

Why? Maybe it’s because Chris Martin’s lyrics and heart-on-sleeve interviews can be sappy. Maybe its because the group was anointed as the Biggest Band in the World after two albums. Or maybe it’s just because people have to hate something.

Whatever the case, jabs at the band — including a dismissive New York Times and a survey that named the group the best music to fall asleep to — clearly riled the British quartet. Its fourth album seems set on upsetting expectations.

“Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends” has 10 songs on it, but don’t be fooled. Four come in multiple parts, with drastic shifts in tempo and instrumentation — an Eastern string section here, distorted guitars over there.

Like the music, Martin writes in grand terms. Soldiers and God get name-checked a lot. At times his lyrics sound a bit wishy-washy, like Charlie Brown fronting U2, but sometimes he turns in an odd, interesting line: “Up they picked me by the big toe,” he sings on “Yes!” “I was held from the rooftop, then they let go.”

Generic lyrics still pop up, but are forgivable, as Martin moves confidently from that popular falsetto to uncommonly deep notes, fitting the album’s varied ambitions. Overall, by stretching under producer Brian Eno, “Viva la Vida…” strikes a better balance between electronics and orchestral flourishes than its hesitant predecessor, 2005’s “X&Y.”

So viva la Coldplay? I’m on board.

DENNIS WILSON, “PACIFIC OCEAN BLUE”

Legacy Recordings

Dennis Wilson, along with brothers Carl and Brian, helped found the Beach Boys, leading to Dennis’ biggest claim to fame: As the group’s drummer, he suggested singing about surfing. Good call, Dennis.

He was also the first Beach Boy to release a solo album, 1977’s “Pacific Ocean Blue.” Long out of print, the album now sees reissue in a two-disc, 33-song package.

The first disc contains his 1977 album, and starts promisingly with “River Song,” a lush soulful number thick with harmonies. It’s as if the Beach Boys were instead a church group. Other songs go astray, though. Some meander along, with lyrics about sunshine, rainbows and love. Wilson’s rough voice fails to sell quite a few.

The second disc contains the sessions for a lost album, “Bambu,” that reflect the growing darkness in Wilson’s own life, as his drug habit grew. Few songs stand out. Wilson never completed the album, dying in 1983 at age 39 in an alcohol-related drowning.

Overall, the deluxe reissue feels out of proportion to Wilson’s material. Granted, it was probably designed less to showcase the songs and more to attract die-hard fans, who will be interested, if not enthralled, by the homage.

WOLF PARADE, “AT MOUNT ZOOMER”

Sub Pop Records

When Wolf Parade put out its first album in 2005, it drew quick comparisons to Modest Mouse, in part because that group’s front man, Isaac Brock, recorded the sucker.

Still, it left a question: How would the group fare when Brock wasn’t manning the boards?

Very well, it turns out. For its new album, the self-produced “At Mount Zoomer,” Wolf Parade sounds as vital as it did on the 2005 stunner “Apologies to the Queen Mary.”

The songs have grown darker. Last album, Dan Boeckner kept singing about his heart being on fire. This time out, he repeats a line with similar urgency on “Language City”: “We are not at home.”

It’s hard to say what the group’s singing about, though. Where is this “Language City?” And what of this Mount Zoomer?

Oh well; it doesn’t matter. It sounds good, as Boeckner trades mike duties with the group’s other vocalist, Spencer Krug, who sounds like a David Bowie devotee.

And anyway, vague lyrics can’t hide the fact that the group, like fellow Montreal band Arcade Fire, plays rock songs with a pulse. Each track feels alive, promising the group existence beyond Brock.

Andy Rathbun, Herald Columnist, arathbun@heraldnet.com, 425-339-3455.