Website: Snow Patrol
The Inside Pulse:
Ever since the massive success of “Run”, Snow Patrol has been the band that music critics like to go on. Reviewers don’t want to slight Coldplay for creating big, dreamy, romantic pop anthems because, well, they’re freaking Coldplay. Instead, they’ve alighted their crosshairs on Snow Patrol, if only because they do exactly what Coldplay does but haven’t quite done it as well. With Eyes Open, however, Snow Patrol is poised to take over Coldplay’s throne as the king of huge, stadium-rocking pop anthems.
Positives:
The music industy has seemingly forgotten what a good melody sounds like, yet Eyes Open is chock full of them. In a world where melody has taken a backseat to charisma and fashion sense, this album is a breath of fresh air. Yes, it’s cheesy and probably overdone, but it’s also quite fantastic.
An album that directly references Sufjan Stevens in the lyrics is going to get an automatic .5 boost in ratings, as well.
Negatives:
The first five songs are extremely strong, but the rest album falls a bit flatter. The songs are still good, but in no way do they compare to the first five cuts — especially the first three, which are as good as anything Coldplay has ever done.
Cross-breed: Coldplay mixed with just about every other British pop band that’s come out since “Yellow.” This is not a bad thing.
Reason to buy: Because they’re like the second coming of Coldplay! Not quite, but you’ll definitely enjoy the heck out of this album if you heart romantic British pop, and especially if you like a good melody.
