Snow Patrol - Fallen Empires Review

Fallen Empires is an album that nestles in nicely along with their other key releases and will be an important album in their history for years to come.

By Rhys Milsom /

Many people will be surprised when they realise that Snow Patrol have been around since 1994 (although they were known previously as Shrug and Polar Bear, and changed their name to Snow Patrol in 1997) and have released six studio recordings. Some people don€™t see past their breakthrough album, Final Straw (2003), and might think that the band has had it easy. But they couldn€™t be further away from the truth. The band was formed at the University of Dundee by the ever-present Gary Lightbody and previous members, Michael Morrison and Mark McClelland. They were then known as the Shrug, and released an EP titled the €˜Yoghurt vs Yoghurt Debate€™ after playing gigs at the university and surrounding pubs. The EP was a stirring success and the band (who were now called Snow Patrol after a quick name-change from Polar Bear) signed to independent label Jeepster Records in 1997. It was on this label that their debut album, €˜Songs For Polarbears€™, was released in 1998. The album was a success critically, but commercially, it made very little impact. Despite the band winning the Phil Lynott Award For Best New Band in 1999, the follow-up to their debut album, €˜When It€™s All Over We Still Have To Clear Up€™, followed in its predecessor€™s footsteps €“ it was a success with critics but didn€™t sell well. The band started to struggle financially, and resorted to sleeping on fans€™ floors after gigs and even pretended to be members of Belle & Sebastian (who were their label-mates) to get into nightclubs; they owed rent to their landlords and used to regularly receive visits and letters from them while on tour. They started to wonder what was going wrong, and realised that it was partly down to their label€™s laid-back attitude towards promotion and the like, even though it was the relaxed attitude of the label the band had warmed to at first. Shortly after the release of their second album, Jeepster dropped Snow Patrol. Many critics and magazines saw this as a very dubious decision, with Hot Press magazine describing it as €˜brainless.€™ However, by July 2001, many bigger labels started showing an interest but the band still remained unsigned. Lightbody even sold a part of his record collection to keep the band afloat, and he calls the time as €˜miserable€™, but the band remained confident something good would come their way sooner rather than later. It was during this time that €˜Run€™ was written acoustically, and this is a song that was to become the band€™s breakthrough single. Something good did come their way, and after interest from Polydor, €˜Final Straw€™ was released in 2003 by Black Lion €“ a subsidiary of Polydor Records. The album was a vast success, with €˜Run€™ debuting at #5 in the UK charts and the other singles €˜Chocolate€™ and €˜Spitting Games€™ both reaching the top 30 and the last single, €˜How To Be Dead€™, reaching #39. The album itself peaked at #3 in the UK Album Chart. The album sold more than 250,000 copies in the US. As they say, the rest is history. Even though Mark McClelland left the band in 2005, and recruited Paul Wilson as his replacement, the band has gone from strength to strength and now is a massive force both sides of the Atlantic. They€™ve toured with U2, played at Live8, and the following albums, €˜Eyes Open€™ and €˜A Hundred Million Suns€™ have been resounding successes and helped establish the band as one of the most popular in contemporary music. Other notable successes of the band include: the song €˜Chasing Cars€™ won the Q Classic Song Award this year; won Best British Group at the Silver Clef Awards; and have won a host of awards from the Meteor Music Awards, including: Best Irish Band (for a number of years), Best Live Performance (2007) and Best Irish Album (2010).

rating: 4

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It€™s hard to imagine Snow Patrol releasing a poor record, and their new album €˜Fallen Empires€™, is a far-cry from a poor release. Much like previous Snow Patrol albums, it€™s a solid piece of material and doesn€™t break any boundaries, but still manages to be an album full of well-structured tracks and there are songs that will stay in your head long after the album€™s finished. Highlights include: €˜This Isn€™t Everything You Are€™ €“ a heartfelt, slow-paced track that incorporates gentle, resonating keys and a beautifully simple guitar line. Lightbody€™s lyrics of, €˜And in one little moment/It all implodes/This isn€™t everything you are/Breathe deeply in the silence/No sudden moves,€™ show the lyric-writing is just as good as the song-writing and the repeated verse of €˜Don€™t keel over now/Don€™t keel over,€™ adds a sense of familiarity to the song, a familiarity that the listener can sing along to. This track sums up everything Snow Patrol do so well €“ simple, effective music; strong lyrics; singalong choruses €“ and it€™s no surprise it€™s the second single off the album. €˜Lifening€™ instantly brought to mind Noah & The Whale, because of the folksy, sunny riff but that€™s soon put to bed via Lightbody€™s vocals. This isn€™t the most grabbing song on offer, but that isn€™t what the song strives to do €“ it would rather remain embedded in your head and that€™s exactly what it does. The haunting, poignant strings that come into play make for a sincere effect that will definitely go down well with the Snow Patrol fans who can€™t get enough of the band€™s romantic anthems.€˜In The End€™ starts off slowly but builds up with well-paced drums and a synth-line that wouldn€™t be out of place on a dance-based track. Lightbody€™s trademark deep vocal style is a fitting oxymoron to the more up-beat music, and the final section of the track is where it all comes together. The vocals, the soaring guitar and keys and the constant gluey drums make for a track that€™s sure to be a hit on the dancefloors. €˜The President€™ is a sombre track that you definitely don€™t want to listen to when you€™re feeling down. However, if you take away the sad, melancholy intonation of the track, you realise that it is a very well-written song that does what it attempts to do: make a sad, reflecting effect on the listener. The lyrics of €˜I can see you at the front gate/As you wait on my return/The years have blurred to eons/But the tears have never dried/But I€™m not coming to you like this/So batter down inside/I will take the road forgotten/Again€™ are not only deep and relatable, but also visual and real. These lyrics are possibly the strongest on the album.€˜Fallen Empires€™ ensures Snow Patrol are still at the top of their game. This album will be another major hit and not just because of the band€™s fame. It€™s an album that nestles in nicely along with their other key releases and will be an important album in their history for years to come. Snow Patrol's Fallen Empires is released today.