By the time Final Straw was being recorded, Snow Patrol were fed up. After releasing two albums that had been met with a general feeling of ‘nobody cares’ by critics and the public alike, they were on the verge of splitting up. Although loved by their fanbase, and popular within musical circles, ... Read review
Final Straw - Snow Patrol
Final Straw, third album from Glasgow-based quintet Snow Patrol, is a darker, nastier and ... more
altogether bleaker beast than anything they've produced before. These are ostentatiously pop melodies that have been locked up in a basement, blindfolded over nig...
Final Straw - Snow Patrol
Final Straw, third album from Glasgow-based quintet Snow Patrol, is a darker, nastier and ... more
altogether bleaker beast than anything they've produced before. These are ostentatiously pop melodies that have been locked up in a basement, blindfolded over nig...
Final Straw - Snow Patrol
Final Straw, third album from Glasgow-based quintet Snow Patrol, is a darker, nastier and ... more
altogether bleaker beast than anything they've produced before. These are ostentatiously pop melodies that have been locked up in a basement, blindfolded over nig...
A review by Seresecros on Final Straw - Snow Patrol June 18th, 2007
Author's product rating:
Originality
Average
Lyrics
Thought-provoking
Quality and consistency of tracks
Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Outstanding
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
Swirling melodies and itchy guitars, thematic and emotive
Disadvantages:
No real variation in the songs, they're either grunge - y or mellow - y
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
By the time Final Straw was being recorded, Snow Patrol were fed up. After releasing two albums that had been met with a general feeling of ‘nobody cares’ by critics and the public alike, they were on the verge of splitting up. Although loved by their fanbase, and popular within musical circles, they decided that if Final Straw failed then that would be it; Snow Patrol would split up and be no more. Lead singer Gary Lightbody, guitarists Nathan Connolly and Mark McClelland, and drummer Jonny Quinn gathered together for what could be their last recording session ever, and went for broke. Acknowledged as a deliberate attempt to appeal to the masses, the album was released in 2004, headed by single “Run”. And… they’re still together.
‘Final Straw’, the album they put together, turned out to be an incredible, flowing piece of work, fixed around the central theme of the break up of a relationship. Lightbody’s dark and bitter lyrics are matched by snarling, angry guitars that bite into each song and rip it apart, dissecting everything except Lightbody’s voice, which stands up. It’s not the greatest voice ever, but it’s emotive. He sounds like a man with only one more song in him before he gives up, because life’s overwhelmed him. His lyrics don’t really focus on big themes, but it’s the way he’s exploring small things, such as finding the sweater his ex accidentally left in his room, small things that ultimately become the main memories taken from broken relationships, that gives his songs an everyman feel. Anyone can relate to them, as long as they’ve known what it’s like to have loved/lost.
I really like this album. For me, it was a watershed album, a record that I bought at a time when I was just starting to really get into music. Previously I’d been buying safe stuff from modern blues artists, people like Norah Jones and Katie Melua, I’d never gotten into rock stuff, or alternative stuff, and really Final Straw was the first album I bought that had an edge to it, a bitterness and hostility that set it apart from my other records. I played it constantly for three years or so, and over that time I started to explore other music, I got into other music. So really, for me, Final Straw is the album that started it all off for me. But I’ll try to stay neutral, and keep away from praising it constantly. If I can. I listen to it rarely now, because it’s an important record for me, because along with Aimee Mann’s Magnolia soundtrack, it what really introduced me to music.
Nobody ever seems to realise that Snow Patrol shouldn’t be lumped in with the Coldplay/Travis group of artists who create soft melodic music capable of bringing grown men to tears twixt their eyes. Sure, they have their moments of quiet, but more often than not they grunge out with heavy guitars. They’re totally different from Coldplay. Snow Patrol are not, and I shall repeat this now Snow Patrol are NOT, soft-rockers. They are dark, and they are disturbing, and their music critically and lyrically dissects love in all it’s forms. They don’t swoon. If Snow Patrol were a person, they’d be the guy who wears a hoodie, listens to Nirvana, and never contributes at University until the day you accidentally walk into their room and find their book of poetry and see drawings and sketches plastered across the walls. And then they catch you in the midst of thievery and throw you out. That is who Snow Patrol are.
What’s great is that I can look at the album now, and still enjoy it. There’s an edge to it that carries it along, and the record feels complete, like a journey almost. Starting off with the final words of a relationship (How To Be Dead) and ending with the energy release of Half The Fun, it carries you along right from the start, gripping you with it’s sense of desperate urgency. The record is split into four distinct parts, and kicks off with “How To Be Dead”, which fails the first time it tries for a guitar melody, and then falls back onto xylophone, which then gives the guitars a chance to return. Acoustic-driven for the first half, the song is an argument between two people as their relationship cracks up. After each have said their piece, the record pauses briefly, and then breaks into a heavy guitar riff, dominated by the drum beat. After, the conversation closes and the argument ends, with the couple splitting up. It’s a heavy way to start the album, but the song, with it’s bittersweet message and spindling pieces of electronica, is a gem. It segues into “Wow” (Snow Patrol rarely have their song titles appear as lyrics) and the guitars roll around, until a drum beat comes in, and heavy, heavy guitars struggle to drown out Lightbody’s muffled and distorted vocals. In turn, “Gleaming Auction” and “Whatever’s Left” follow straight on respectively from the last song, in essence creating a four-song-suite - although with guitars, not with Nancy philharmonic nonsense. Gleaming Auction is a song which struggles to keep away from the guitars, which sound dangerous and are always on the edge of breaking out and taking the song - Whatever’s Left, on the other hand, starts off dark and grows darker and heavier as it goes on. Yet there’s a strange sense of melody creeping throughout the four songs which holds them together, and keeps them on the right side of grunge.
One feature of the album is the way that the producers have inserted ‘cracks’ in the music. A little like antiquing the album, throughout are little glitches (intentional ones, promise) which break up and distort the sound briefly. Crackles of static, things like that. It all builds up, much like the singles “Spitting Games” and “Chocolate”, which come next. Spitting Games is the closest the band come to glorifying heavy metal, with multiple guitars screaming out at once and thudding drums announcing Lightbody as he sings “I broke into your house last night/and left a note at your bedside” It’s all about being unable to find the words to say (shout-out to an earlier Snow Patrol song there) to a crush you have, about finding it hard to ask someone out because of the fear of rejection, and works rather well. Chocolate, on the other hand, is one of the more melodic touches on the album. Controlled by a restrained guitar, and some rhymic drumming, it’s also one of Lightbody’s best vocal performances. He sounds muffled throughout the album by vocoders and distortion, but here he sings clearly, and the track is a moment of clarity lost amongst bitterness, jealousy, anger. As such, it’s made all the more poignant. “What have I done? It’s too late for that/What have I become? Truth is, nothing yet.” He sings. “Run” closes the second section of music. A downbeat anthem which caught the nation’s attention, I’d be surprised if you haven’t heard of it. Lightbody’s attempt at creating an anthem starts off slowly, each verse sounding slow and deliberate. Then, from nowhere, comes the crashing chorus – “Light up, Light up – as if you have a choice!”, and guitars and keyboards and drums mash into cacophony, and suddenly everything’s alright. It’s an astonishing tune.
“Grazed Knees” is a slow, thoughtful song, with slow guitar melodies and a plaintive call for help from Lightbody as he deals with the aftermath of returning to an old girlfriend for a rebound fling – always a bad idea. Keyboards come in, and announce the appearance of “Ways & Means”, another song with crashing guitars and hard drums. It’s one of my favourites, actually, because the chorus is totally a singalong, even if it is distorted quite heavily at times. Everything seems to be building up, and the chorus doesn’t disappoint. Neither does the short two minute track “Tiny Little Fractures”, which sails along quickly with fast vocals, fast guitars… strong drumming, and a “whoa-owa-whoa-owa-whoa, yeah” chorus which begs you to join in. But all this is just a set-up, so the guitars can exhaust themselves in time for “Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking”, the best song I’ve yet heard about the Iraq war. It’s sung from the viewpoint of a scared new recruit trying to make sense of his position and stay alive. It’s a slow-burner of a song, held back remarkable-well by the band, who refuse to release the full force of the guitars until the song is ready for them. It’s a masterpiece of timing, a highlight of the album, and a stunning song in it’s own right. It’s the sort of song that can send goosebumps up every part of your body at the same time, and make you feel like you’re totally still. The third section of the album closes with “Same”, which deals with the fallout of the extreme ending of “Somewhere…” A piano, surprisingly, is the lead for the song, and it closes everything off, the themes of a broken relationship, trying to get over troubles, everything is dealt with and wrapped up here.
Which just leaves us with time for the two bonus tracks we Brits get as a reward for being born in the right place at the right time. “We Can Run Away Now They're All Dead and Gone” is a song dying out to be played during a romantic drama, when the young couple decide to make a go of it whilst sat in a trendy café having coffees. The bouncy rock/pop mixture keeps the song going, and the chorus “you are all I really want, in this world” says it all, really. It’s the start of a new relationship after the failure of the last one, and a positive way to finish – ‘cept, as “Half The Fun” points out, the future isn’t clear (or orange), it’s kinda dark… and unknown. It’s what I can only describe as a release of all the pent-up anger, leaping onto the guitars which furiously vent their rage during the last minute or so, which is completely dominated by a wall of thrash-guitar. It’s like the end of a journey.
It’s been quite a journey for you guys too, judging by the length the word count says I’ve got to. Apologies for wandering on, but as I mentioned repeatedly before, this is an important, seminal album for me. I won’t endlessly praise the album any more, but I’ll say this instead. Every track is important. Every melody, lyric or piece of static have their place, and everything clicks together to make the album a whole. Many albums today are a collection of songs, but this restores the album as an entity and makes it important again. It’s demanding and significant, and I can’t ask for anything else.
Advantages: It's sublime - not a duff track to be found Disadvantages: Nothing whatsoever
...Nathan Connolly (guitar).
~ FINAL STRAW ~
So really - what's so good about "Final Straw"? Well it was nominated for the Mercury Prize as album of the year and it's been described as "Something special" by The Times and "A musical masterpiece" by the Sunday Post. For me it is quite simply a collection of some of the best music I've heard in years. All the songs on the album were written by Snow Patrol themselves, with the lyrics penned by Gary Lightbody. ... ...released as the fourth and final single from this album. A superb opening track - gentle and melodic building into a superb keyboard crescendo in the middle. Lyrically it deals with a plea for greater understanding but it's rather difficult to get a handle on what it refers to specifically. Not as strong as previous releases such as "Spitting Games" and "Run", but I wish them well with it in the charts. This track merges into the second track "Wow" ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: An excellent album packed full of fantastically well crafted tracks. Disadvantages: Fourteen tracks is not enough.
...the album, the fourth and final single to have been released from 'Final Straw'. Although the least commercially successful of singles to have been released from the album, I feel that it is one of incredible strength and is definitely a track I derive great listening pleasure from. Whilst it may not be as hard hitting and instantly catchy as the other tracks to have been released from the album, 'How To Be Dead' is an incredibly well written track ... ...about this one seems to fit together perfectly, with the track proving itself to be the most masterful of creations. It is not often that opening tracks possess such beauty and grace, however 'How To Be Dead' is a track which encapsulates both of these qualities splendidly. One great characteristic that Snow Patrol front man Gary Lightbody is blessed with is charisma. Every one of the fourteen tracks on this album exudes his charismatic eminence. ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: No weak tracks, One of the years best albums so far Disadvantages: maybe a tad long
...of this mellower segment the final song of the three is “Grazed Knees”. It has a very haunting opening with the keyboard really opening it up before the guitar comes in followed shortly after by the vocals. The guitar really builds upon this haunting feeling as it slowly builds up in the background and when we finally get to the chorus the full effect of this can be felt as the backing vocals also provide an echo like effect to the main vocals. Although ... ...so far. The final official track on the album and also the longest “Same” is another mellower track that opens with a piano loop and the vocals coming in shortly afterwards. The slow pace is carried on as the drums and guitars come in to lead the song along. The correlation between the drums, guitars and vocals really make the song what it is. The vocals mixed with good quality lyrics really round off a good track. However when I say it’s the longest ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: A strong refreshingly British album Disadvantages: Not a band that will automatically stick out and make you remember them ala the Darkness
I first heard of Snow Patrol on the local radio at home at Christmas of 2003. I had been away at university for 3 and a half months and I hadn't listened to Xfm for months so I wasn't as up on new music as I like to be. I heard this and was gutted to be going back to Leicester. However, when back in Leicester I constantly nagged my girlfriend that there were a few bands that were great and should make it on the basis of their quality. These were ... ...I wasn't aware that this was their third album until recently but this should not be put against them - Blur became much bigger after the release of their third album (a certain Parklife). Also, a bit of a random fact, the lead singer is the only man that Colin (from Colin and Edith on Radio 1) has ever snogged...Anyway, on to the songs:
1. How To Be Dead
A gentle intro that warns you they are capable of nice melodies that leave you humming their ...
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Originality
Lyrics
Quality and consistency...
How does it compare to ...
Value for Money
very helpful
24.03.2004
Final Straw Review ofFinal Straw - Snow Patrolby
num13er
Advantages: refreshingly original through and through Disadvantages: none
I first time I heard of Snow Patrol is when they released the song "Run" and that was a pretty good start. It was only when i heard the song "Spitting games" that i knew they were something else. I bought the album confident it was going to be decent, but i was in for much better than that.
"How to be dead"
The opening track on this album is very melodic, ironic because of what its actually conveying. We hear how a drug problem takes away a sense ... ...how much damage it causes perhaps. A brilliant start to the album and the suttle manner its presented with contrasts nicely with the serious message it conveys.
"Wow"
More up tempo from the first track, great sounding intro with the guitar and drums coming in nicely. The songs basically trying to convey the trust and indeed faith need in relationships. Really well done song.
"Gleaming Auction"
Starts off very lightly before it really begins to ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Summery, romantic and melodic throughout Disadvantages: Nothing original here, and grossly overplayed
...Fractures', complimented by the softness of Gary's voice, or gentle acoustic/piano (which is where they truly stand out). There's no in between with FinalStraw.
To that end, there's nothing revolutionary here. It's the same SnowPatrol here as with their previous albums and 'Eyes Open'. But can't blame them for sticking to what they do best ! They do it well.
1. How To Be Dead - Beautiful and relaxing, with deep lyrics and charming vocals *****
2. Wow - Gritty and rough around the edges. Features signature choir vocals in background to Gary's harmonies ****
3. Gleaming Auction - Strong song with good rhythm, but perhaps a shadow on the earlier two tracks ***
4. Whatever's Left ***
5. Spitting Games - Outstanding fuzzy guitar effects and summery feel. A highlight *****
6. Chocolate - Iconic and beautiful *****
7. Run...
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...SNOWPATROL- EYES OPEN
RELEASED: 2006 - POLYDOR RECORDS
Well you may of just read my review of SnowPatrol's third album 'FinalStraw', well now my review of their 4th- 'Eyes Open'.
After hearing the 'FinalStraw' album SnowPatrol became my favourtie band and i waited with anticipation for the release of 'Eyes Open' in 2006.
I was expecting a great album, i knew that nothing they could do would surpass the classic track 'Run' off the previous album, was still looking forward to hearing their new offering.
So as i did for the previous album, i bought a couple of beers, sent the Mrs out shopping with the kids, and listened intently.
Never would i of thought that this would be so much better than 'FinalStraw' but it was, and there is me saying that nothing would surpass 'run' and then track 3 came on...
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Album Notes: Swedish edition. Scotland's Snow Patrol formed in the mid-1990s, united by a love for both American and British alternative rock. Led by singer/guitarist Gary Lightbody, the band recorded two albums for the revered Jeepster label (home of Belle & Sebastian) before signing with A&M Records. FINAL STRAW, the group's major-label debut, finds Snow Patrol expanding its indie-rock guitar-based sound with greater focus on keyboards, strings, and fuller production values (courtesy of Garret Lee). Lightbody's charming vocals and lyrics provide the band's emotional center, as best evidenced on the wistful opener "How to Be Dead" and the slowly building "Run." Although Snow Patrol knows its way around quiet melancholy, the ensemble is also capable of rocking out ("Spitting Games," "Chocolate"), revealing an aesthetic that places the group squarely in the ranks of Coldplay, Travis, and other Britpop luminaries.
Album Reviews: Spin (p.65) - Ranked #23 in Spin's "40 Best Albums of the Year" - "Feel-good Britpop for nonbelievers." Spin (p.100) - "[A]rena-ready songs about long good-byes with right-angled guitar fuzz." Entertainment Weekly (4/2/04, p.66) - "[FINAL STRAW] proves the Irish quartet keeps getting better....The band has added pulsing strings and staticky textures to its luscious mix." - Rating: A Magnet (p.108) - "[A] soaring, super-polished album replete with dreamy anthems, superior pop moments....All in all, pretty crafty. And pretty smart."
Titles on disc 1
1.: How To Be Dead
2.: Wow
3.: Gleaming Auction
4.: Whatever's Left
5.: Spitting Games
6.: Chocolate
7.: Run
8.: Grazed Knees
9.: Ways And Means
10.: Tiny Little Fractures
11.: Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking
12.: Same
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