Snow Patrol’s 2003 album “Final Straw” was my introduction to indie rock. I may be overstating it, but everyone has that one album they cherish because it opened them up to good music for the first time. That album has so much to offer: glitchy distorted breakdowns, catchy choruses, and emotional buildups all wrapped in a polished genre-bending sound. Snow Patrol have since traveled the well-trodden roads of commercial success. How many times have you heard the chorus of “Chasing Cars”? But, in a world where commercial success doesn’t mean as much as it used to, Snow Patrol are being pushed out of the spotlight. Everyone is looking for the next dance-floor drop instead of slow-building rock songs about everlasting love. So, what’s a band who makes passionate rock songs to do in a world where people just want to get drunk and have sex? The answer is simple: don’t change a thing.
The old Snow Patrol is back with one hell of a grower. Opening with two electronic-crossover songs seems a little misleading, but careful attention to detail reveals meticulous crafting the likes of which only Snow Patrol could do. Small bursts of distortion, climbing guitar riffs, and little rhythmic fills layer each song, most noticeably on the album’s first single, the MGMT-invoking “Called Out in the Dark”. Following, though, are tracks that flow instead of pulse, and soften instead of strengthen. At the end of “This Isn’t Everything You Are”, the song cuts to just a string section, leaving the song exposed, vulnerable, and beautiful. Immediately after, the soft piano of “The Garden Rules” strikes an intensely emotional chord. Every lyric here, no matter how corny, seems so incredibly intimate. The song details a love story between two children, who spent time together in a garden; the beauty is stunning. “Yes we were just kids, but you couldn’t tell us that…” sings Gary Lightbody in his robust tenor.
Then it’s back to the grindstone for the title track. It’s not particularly impressive, but it does see Snow Patrol expanding their sonic palette, moving into the rhythmic mashing of guitars and synths. Next, the beautiful string- and glockenspiel-laden instrumental “Berlin” and the soft ballad “Lifening” prove that the band has perfected their formula for unbridled beauty. Strangely enough, the three songs “Berlin”, “Lifening”, and “New York” remind me of Sigur Rós. These songs’ ability to be loud and bombastic, yet touching tearjerkers is truly amazing.
“In the End” seems like the true centerpiece of the album. It’s simultaneously danceable and introverted. Whether it’s a flaw or marketing genius, Snow Patrol is accessible and listenable, their lyrics massly relatable. Snow Patrol proves that sometimes it’s good to have music that you don’t have to spend decades deciphering before you are able to just enjoy it.
The album wraps up on an entirely different note than it started with. “The Symphony” is the dance-pop version of “Chasing Cars”. It grows to the very end with a wall of synths and guitars behind drummer John Quinn’s steady disco beat and Gary Lightbody’s building and repeating chorus of “If this is all you ever asked for, then this is all you’ll get.” Album closer ”The President” is a quiet piano pop track that fades to city noises before entering the classically-infused “prelude” “Broken Bottles Form a Star”.
It’s an interesting end to an eclectic album, one that seems to encompass Snow Patrol’s entire catalog in one seamless move. The band seem comfortable in their own shoes for the first time in a long time, and it may take a little getting used to. There are no risks here, which can be both a good and bad thing, depending on your outlook. It means that you know exactly what you’re getting into: some upbeat radio-friendly songs, some beautiful (but occasionally boring) ballads, and, above all, an hour of perfectly distilled Snow Patrol.
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