When I saw Hey Rosetta! play in a crowded band shell in the pouring rain at Osheaga in 2009, the last thing on my mind was “Man, these guys sound like Coldplay” (coincidentally that night’s headliner). But when I started listening to Seeds, their third full-length album, I realized that it was the only thing I was thinking.

The album feels over-produced at first, with a multi-layered sound crowding the opening tracks. It sounds as if a lot of effort has been put into making the album sound a certain way, instead of letting it take form on its own. And that’s fine if you’re making spacey stadium pop rock like X&Y, but for a grassroots east coast folk rock band, it’s just wrong.

The good news is that it doesn’t stay that way. By the time we get to track four, the skies have started to clear. “Bricks,” is crisp and complex without being a pile-on, and “New Sum (Nous Sommes),” is more than a witty title: it’s catchy, unusual (frantic drum fills during the chorus, anyone?) and easily the best song on the album. The next track of ambient nonsense notwithstanding, the album is gravy until the end (even though more acoustic songs like “Bandages” would have been a welcome addition).

Seeds is a mixed bag to be sure, but it definitely veers positive once you get a couple songs into it.