In what is probably a blow to my manliness, I’m a pretty big Coldplay fan. Things have become so bad that I wear green flannel and chop down trees while listening to the British four-piece, just to keep my innate gruffness in check. It probably doesn’t help my middle name is Martin, either.

Yet, during one of my more recent Coldplay binges — each song followed with a shot of manly whiskey, no less — I came upon a startling realization. The Coldplay of today is not the Coldplay of yesterday. Stunning, right? I’m expecting a gold star for this startling discovery in the mail any day now. But while every band obviously goes through some sort of transformation — a distinct evolution throughout their careers — Coldplay’s strikes me as particularly strange.

You see, Coldplay was once a band that had actual guitars involved in the song-making process. And I’m not talking about a half-hearted, Talk-style solo. These were full-fledged riffs that actually went somewhere musically, and more importantly, carried the song. Maybe even a little bass, that actually deviated from the chords in play. Today, we get a whole bunch of strings, an overabundance of keys, and a couple of band members wondering how long it’ll be until they have to learn the glockenspiel.

It’s a far cry from the early days, no doubt — just ask Bigger Stronger.

Maybe this is just the irritated rant of a fan who loved Parachutes and A Rush of Blood to the Head oh-so much. There was something about the mix of guitar and piano that was different at the time — sappy, perhaps, but catchy. And that mix has arguably made Coldplay one of the biggest bands in the world.

Just a band with a little less guitar.

Now, to never speak of this forbidden fandom again; I’ve got some power tools to clean.