When Dundee’s Snow Patrol had the top-selling album in the U.K. in 2006 with Eyes Open, it appeared that they’d hit on a commercially successful formula, mixing high wash and emotionalism, even if it veered into overwrought. 2008’s follow-up A Hundred Million Suns (QRO review) continued that formula, but with Fallen Empires the group has at least half broken their mold, mostly for the better.
In their times of growth on Empires, Snow Patrol resemble no one more so than fellow Celts Bell X1 (QRO live review), who grew from the underwhelming emotionalism of 2005’s Flock (QRO review) – a hit in their native Ireland – to Talking Heads-like art-emotion with 2008’s Blue Lights On the Runway (QRO review). Snow Patrol singer/guitarist Gary Lightbody said that there would be a change with this record, and he seems to have adopted the right styles. Pieces like the growing introductory opener "I’ll Never Let Go", following strong & evocative first single "Called Out In the Dark" & "The Weight of Love", plus later tracks "New York" and "Those Distant Bells" are all superior Snow Patrol, utilizing drum machine-like beats the right way. "Bells" also puts a nice relax into the band, who should relax more often.
Unfortunately, not all of Fallen Empires made the jump. Pieces like grand single "This Isn’t Everything You Are", over-sweet "The Garden Rules", big "Lifening", and penultimate piano emotionalism "The President" all hew to Snow Patrol’s earlier style, and are not even the best examples of that. Only "Berlin" manages to square the overwrought circle, sort of, with pure sincerity. And the superior new style on the record only makes the inferior old style stand out even more.
Snow Patrol singer/guitarist Gary Lightbody let fans know that Fallen Empires would be a shift in style, and the group has got it mostly right, even if they can’t quite let go of the past just yet.
MP3 Stream: "Called Out In the Dark"
