Thu:13-11-2008

- Album Review: Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns

New Album Celebrates Love In Motion

When Snow Patrol first entered the scene in the '90s, they weren't very popular; their indie rock sound was pretty much ignored. After some unsuccessful albums with their first record label, they got ditched, got hungry and their frontman, Gary Lightbody, even had to sell his prized CD collection to get by.

After some band reshuffling, Snow Patrol moved towards more of an alternative pop/powerpop sound and signed on with Polydor. 2003's 'Final Straw' proved to be the beginning and then 2006's 'Eye's Open' was the sealing of the deal, mainly due the popularity (and placement in Grey's Anatomy) of 'Chasing Cars'. Their newie, 'A Hundred Million Suns', is out now.

Fans already into the caress of Snow Patrol's dreamy instrumental tunes will be impressed. While 'A Hundred Million Suns' represents growth, it's not a major departure from their recent work. The feeling of the album does however depart from Snow Patrol's normally dark outlook. Gary Lightbody has said that he wanted the album to be lighter and more cheerful than their previous work. Rather than documenting the demise of love, 'A Hundred Million Suns' celebrates love in motion.

The first single 'Take Back The City' has a 'Chasing Cars' feel about it: it builds, grumbles and has a catchy chorus in an alt kind of way. 'A Hundred Million Suns' is a long album (just short of an hour), and rather than having standouts, it works as a narrative - each track floats into the next, generating  and there's a continual momentum throughout. But make sure you check out 'If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It', 'The Golden Floor' and 'Please Just Take These Photos From My Hands'. And 'we should probably mention it's most probably their best yet.

Release date: 25 October 2008 (Polydor)

By Catherine Hogan