Customer Reviews

Final Straw

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Snow Patrol's latest album, Final Straw, is the best album I've heard in a long time. Their work on The Reindeer Section's "Your Sweet Voice" has the same soothing, catchy qualities as their work on this album. Standouts on the album are "How to be Dead," "Spitting Games," and "Chocolate." The haunting chouruses are hard to get out of your head, but they are not annoying and you never get sick of them, so you don't mind when they're stuck in your head. The CD has wide appeal- I believe you'll like it whatever your age and whatever kind of music you like. If you like the Scottish/Indie/Alt/Rock bands like Idlewild and The Reindeer Section, you'll love Snow Patrol's Final Straw. If I could buy any Snow Patrol CD, I'd buy Final Straw. Importing the CD is cheap- it costs around $16, and it only takes about 12 days to be shipped to the US, and it is definitely worth the wait. When I went to http://www.snowpatrol.net/ to hear sneak- previews of the album, I was definitely sold.

In todays era of soul-less corporate rock and cash-safe "attack of the clones", I've begun to look over the pond for my music needs. Bands such as Muse, Kent, Doves, and Idlewild (just to name a few) get regular spin time in my ear buds.

A while back I got into the Reindeer Section, a side project of Gary Lightbody (creative force behind Snow Patrol) which incorporated a lot of euro talent on multiple tracks. The albums were a chance for Lightbody to experiment with some *safe* and *marketable* sounds, while retaining some integrity in the indie market by not carbon copying each track or sticking to a particular formula too closely (or marketing it to death). The Reindeer project, to me, was a simple attempt to get some people together and create some good music and, in my opinion, they succeeded nicely.

Fast forward to today. Lightbody took all that he learned with Reindeer Section, what he thought worked, what he thought could be improved, and created Final Staw, the new Snow Patrol album. What he and his band created is a more "radio friendly" version of Snow Patrol, which will no doubt upset the long-term fans, however...and it needs to be said.....WOW! Radio-friendly never sounded so good.

There are no "skip me's" on this cd. All tracks are solid. As others pointed out, some (like "Run") stand out as singles, but the other songs that are more radio-edgy stand out like polished gems. I think this band has grown a lot since Polar Bears and am glad I've been along for the ride.

The promise showed by Snow Patrol through the paranoid rock of `Songs for Polar Bears' and bittersweet acoustics of `When It's All Over...' is perfected in this, their third album.

While they've always been a fantastic live band, their recorded work has never had quite the power of their live shows - until now. Gary's songwriting is twice what it was before, perhaps as a result of sideproject 'The Reindeer Section' balancing his creative output these days. In the past their albums have been endearingly all over the shop but 'Final Straw' manages to combine the greatest variety of sounds in a coherant progression - even if its only a slight thematic or melodic link - from one song to another. As a result the cd plays beautifully, whether you listen right through or pick out individual tracks.

All the songs are great so you'll be hooked to this album from the opening stutter of 'How to be Dead', through the phenomenal 'Run' to the beautiful closing duo of 'Somewhere a Clock is Ticking' and 'Same'. It's always been a shame that Snow Patrol are critically acclaimed yet underrated, but the release of this album just makes the fact they've not recieved as much press attention as many other irish bands recently all the harder to understand.

Definitely album of the year! :)

I cannot fault this album, there is not a song that i dont enjoy. The first single "spitting games" is an excellent song but this is not the song which will stay with you; "Run" when released as a single will become an instant classic, and if it doesn't - it deserves to. Possibly the best new song ive heard this year. It will inspire you and leave you feeling complete. Gary Lightbody and co. should be proud of this album; focusing on vocals while employing excellent and understated instrumentals. The final straw is an album everyone should buy and then you will understand my enfatuated ramblings. Best album iv heard this year.

After several solid albums in the UK, Snow Patrol gets some US attention with their breakout album, "Final Straw." Their melancholy rock'n'roll has a sort of chilly, late-autumn sound and a lot of songs about falling-out with lovers, but avoids being the cliched, whiny album about The End of the Band Leader's Relationship.

"Run" serves as the most polished, radio-oriented song -- smooth and vaguely Coldplayish -- but songs like "Run" and "Spitting Games" take a different tack: More rough indie-rock with some wicked basslines and a solid rhythm. The most musically rich song is "Ways and Means," a magnificent, slow-grinding song that includes violins, synths and cymbals.

Snow Patrol don't really forge any new paths into the world of rock music. Most of their songs are rooted in gritty indie-rock bands, as well as some classics like Pink Floyd. But they do have a solid, engaging style, in the form of a "message": Gary Lightbody seems to be asking his lovers to please, please, PLEASE understand him.

The songs almost border on dance music sometimes -- some strings, barely-restrained chugging guitars, solid basslines and the occasional lovely roll of electronic sound serve to contrast the melancholy tone. Not to mention delicate touches like strings, which also polish up the edges.

It seems a little weird to have such musically upbeat instrumentation while singing about being drenched in the rain. But it saves "Final Straw" from being yet another mopey pop album about The End of the Relationship, but not so perky that it becomes annoying.

Gary Lightbody's vocals sometimes get buried under the drums; they are best highlighted in songs like "Run," where the sound is lower-key. Snow Patrol's guys do need a bit of serious help with some of the songwriting. "My heart is bursting in your perfect eyes/ As blue as oceans and as pure as skies." While these songs have an earnestly sweet quality, it can't be denied that the writing is pretty banal.

"Final Straw" is a solid album, but it leaves one with the impression that Snow Patrol can -- and probably will -- do even better. While this bittersweet breakout is destined to be quite popular, it probably deserves it.

If you like folk implosion you will like snow patrol and vice versa. Nuff' said.

Although I love the "Run," but I don't think it can be a best album of the year. I mean most of the songs are the same. I hate people always put a slow song as their last song. Common, It's freaking boring and uncreative. "Run" is the only great song. Some good songs before but the rest are bad and boring.