Album Review: Snow Patrol

Snow Patrol’s long awaited fifth album ‘A Hundred Million Suns’, is an album made by a band who didn’t believe in retracing their steps of years gone by.

A massive departure from the downtrodden album that pushed them into the musical stratosphere, this is an album perfectly made for the recession: an album that the band wanted to be more cheerful than their work to-date.

Produced by Jacknife Lee - U2, REM and Bloc Party are just some of the acts he’s worked with - the album has given frontman Gary Lightbody the confidence to publicly call it the best album the band’s ever made. They also reckon that the different recording studios - from Westmeath to Berlin - really invigorated and energized them to take a different approach to the new album.

With their fresh, lively single ‘Take Back The City’, which preceded the album, the boys have reason to be confident about the album. Their first single was inspired by the fast-paced rhythm of city life in Belfast and even us term-time Dubliners can relate to that on some level.

Unlike the band’s previous albums, ‘A Hundred Million Suns’’ themes are a lot more diverse ranging: with songs about their home place and the band’s struggle for stardom taking the place of what should be a jilted love song. The album also includes an amazing sixteen minute composition ‘The Lightening Strike’, which blends three different tracks - ‘What If The Storm Ends’, ‘Sunlight’ and ‘Daybreak’ - each of the three tracks being equally unique and themed.

It’s very refreshing to hear a bit of diversity in Snow Patrol’s work rather than the same old songs about relationships and heartbreak. With a big sound and a lot of thought provoking tracks, the album ensures that the band truly does stand out from the rest in the run-up to Christmas and can’t just be branded as just plain old Tesco rock anymore.

4/5