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.
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 dont see past their breakthrough album, Final Straw (2003), and might think that the band has had it easy. But they couldnt 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 Its All Over We Still Have To Clear Up, followed in its predecessors footsteps it was a success with critics but didnt 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 labels 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 bands 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. Theyve 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
Its 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, its a solid piece of material and doesnt 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 albums finished. Highlights include: This Isnt Everything You Are a heartfelt, slow-paced track that incorporates gentle, resonating keys and a beautifully simple guitar line. Lightbodys lyrics of, And in one little moment/It all implodes/This isnt 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 Dont keel over now/Dont 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 its no surprise its the second single off the album. Lifening instantly brought to mind Noah & The Whale, because of the folksy, sunny riff but thats soon put to bed via Lightbodys vocals. This isnt the most grabbing song on offer, but that isnt what the song strives to do it would rather remain embedded in your head and thats 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 cant get enough of the bands romantic anthems. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjhnIJn4fT4 In The End starts off slowly but builds up with well-paced drums and a synth-line that wouldnt be out of place on a dance-based track. Lightbodys 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 thats sure to be a hit on the dancefloors. The President is a sombre track that you definitely dont want to listen to when youre 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 Im 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. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE7NlepekAQ 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 bands fame. Its 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.