That's interesting you say that, because I felt X&Y was the most impersonal of their albums, even A Rush of Blood... What bothered me the most about X&Y was all of the empty space, it seemed like every song was in some sort of vacuum you know? Then you go to Parachutes and you have this warmth and touching feeling when listening to that album, there's something going on in the background. A Rush of Blood... was more dense I guess, relying more on synths and lush sounds, while still sounding personal and setting a mood. With X&Y, everything seemed forced - the ballads weren't touching, the rock songs weren't that groovy, everything was out of place. There was no personality, everything came across very trite, like it was their demo to be the "Next Best Thing." Maybe being more impersonal with each album was supposed to be a logical progression, but with X&Y everything fell flat.
The only song that can be salvaged from that album is 'Til Kingdom Come, which is really a bonus track.