Acting as the
Coldplay
to
's
U2
, the Dublin quartet
Kodaline
specialize in the school boy sincerity of
Chris Martin
's crew. On their second album,
Coming Up for Air
, they swap the quiet adventure of
's albums with
Eno
for an on-the-nose mawkishness that reaches a pinnacle on "Unclear," when their anthemic chorus is underscored by a children's choir. Not everything on
is slow -- "Unclear" is bookended by "Human Again" and "Lost," the two songs that have some fuzz and pulse -- but it feels as if this is as calm as a placid lake. Sometimes, the record is as pretty as that, too, a nice, polite collection of adult alternative pop. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine