Just got an email from Coldplay.com telling me that they’re giving away the band’s new single, “Violet Hill,” as a free download beginning Tuesday on Coldplay.com. The free download will be available for a week.

The new album is called Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends, and (as you can almost see on the image at right) it has some artwork with a half-nekkid woman on the front. So, not exactly the most fan-friendly album cover when you have a 10-year-old at home who likes Coldplay.

I’m really curious to see what this album will sound like. I’ve been a fan since their first album, but didn’t find the most recent album all that thrilling — it was almost like Coldplay-by-numbers. I’m looking for something that sounds different, something new. They need to find a new path and explore it. With Brian Eno producing, I’m optimistic they’ve done that. But we’ll see…..