“Snow Patrol” is an Irish/Scottish indie/alternative rock band from Dundee. Snow Patrol was formed in 1994 and currently the band consists of Gary Lightbody (vocals and guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar and backing vocals), Paul Wilson (bass), Jonny Quinn (drums) and Tom Simpson (keyboards). Snow Patrol was originally known as an indie rock band, but changed to a more alternative rock and power pop sound.
One hundred million soles opens with “If there’s a rocket, tie me to it”. It starts off in the distance with the help of synths and gradually gets louder and enters the track when the right momentum hits. When the guitar comes on, it sounds great before Gary fires up with his trademark husky but smooth voice. As Gary sings, the background music continues and crests as Gary says, “A fire, a fire, you can only take what you can carry… A pulse, your pulse, is all I can remember. ..” Snow Patrol also increases the tempo in this part. The remaining minute, If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It gets louder and Snow Patrol adds some howls in the background as Gary sings through to the end… Great appetizer here…
“Break the Blinds” begins with a delicate piano playing. Gary’s voice works really well with the piano on the verse. In the chorus, the drums continue to pound and Gary says, “Open the blinds wide, I want to bathe you in daylight… And watch you as the rays wrap around your face and body…” Guitar joins in here as well and the whole track opens up to a new tempo and sounds livelier. It’s not a fast track in general, but it will work on anyone, including you. Trust me.
Ounce “Take back the city” starts, the guitar makes me think this track could be big. They instantly connected me with Take Back The City. Snow Patrol’s guitar just knows how to blend into this track so well. With the style they’re playing, Take Back The City should have sounded loud and ferocious. But Snow Patrol knows what we like about them, and they did it again with this track. They never stop rocking and at the same time remain as soft and lovely as ever. In the chorus where Gary says, “It’s a mess, it’s a start, it’s a flawed work of art, your city, your calling…” you’d be treated to a repeat of rock guitar riffs that complement his way of playing. be from Gary. voice. Snow Patrol is having a good time with this track, I can definitely feel it.
“Lifeboats” it has some constant guitars at the beginning. As the guitar plays, Gary walks in and starts singing in his lovely husky voice. I definitely like the Lifeboats beat here. Very good stuff! The music just joined by bass as it reaches a certain point where we meet Gary says, “Flashed in my wildest dreams, like streams of red blood, spread like vast skies… The veins of you, the veins of me, like golden trees of the forest… Pushing through and in and in…” Shortly after that, I like the sound of violin turning on and off as Gary continues to sing. If he feels so good to listen to him. Lifeboats is one of the tracks that will impress after a few listens. It’s slow and catchy in a way that could give you a wake-up call and have you hit the play button as the song nears the end. And what an ending too!
“The Golden Floor” it has some handclaps at the beginning while the guitar plays in the background. Gary just came in with his voice shortly after he started The Golden Floor. Throughout this track the clapping gives the impression that they are replacing the drums even though the drums are being played on this track but you can barely hear it as the clapping overwhelmed you for miles. Snow Patrol is very consistent in The Golden Floor, some may find it boring and others may like it. Still, you only have to try The Golden Floor to find out.
“Please just take these pictures of my hands” bring the tempo back. The non-stop strumming of the guitar seems to be the central element that keeps this song going while Gary just sings his usual stuff. In the chorus, the guitar takes on a different riff with a high touch as Gary says, “When did all this real life end? Where the hell was I? I rack my brains out, but it won’t come out….” It seems like Snow Patrol already got their signature guitar sound, as I always catch them playing the same guitar style on almost every fast track. As the song is ending, Gary just sings on repeat, “Please take these pictures of my hands…” One of those songs that reminds me of “Spitting Games” from the Final Straw album.
“Put Down Your Glass” is a track that takes Snow Patrol from a fast tempo track to a slower tempo track. Not many instruments are used on Set Down Your Glass, the most obvious sounds being the guitar and Gary Lightbody’s vocals. He simply has the voice of a beautiful singer of ballads and love songs. I bet Gary would also do amazingly well if this song was an acapella version. Set Down Your Glass just shows the strength of his voice here. Quite charming!
“The planets bend between us” For me it is a beautiful ballad of love song. And the lyrics themselves contain the title of the album, “One Hundred Million Suns…” Gary packs a punch with his voice here on the vocals, “I’ll take you to the water’s edge, and from the edge of Ireland I’ll cry aloud loud, so they could hear it in America, it’s all for you…” The part where Gary sings, “It’s all for you…” is the best part of all. I love the way Gary extends his voice on the word “You…” Beautiful and loving ballad here, shows that Snow Patrol is capable of writing such a meaningful and thought-provoking song that manages to capture the heart of every person. This song will melt you, it will pamper you and best of all, it will touch you.
“engines” it has some howling at the beginning before joining a sharp guitar riff. After each phrase sung by Gary, the high-pitched guitar riff can be heard in a way that is almost dessert-like after a sumptuous main course. In the chorus, a second guitar can be heard and he possesses a fairy tale element as he plays in the chorus along with Gary’s vocals. One more thing worth mentioning is the cleverly written lyrics, “You say you love me like the silence of the spinning earth, you say you love me like the endless roar of modern life, you say you love me like laughter and you kissed away the tears, you say you love me like past now years to come…” No other words can describe this lyric except beautiful, unless you can find a better word.
disaster button it has a little up-tempo guitar in the opening. It sounds like he’s taking small steps up the stairs. Gary just sings like he’s talking. When he hits the right momentum, the whole track seems to be taking off in a high and fast mode, and yet Gary keeps singing without using much force: “Forward for later, you look light on your feet, when you turned.” the room, I got pinned to my seat…” Snow Patrol’s guitars seem to be enjoying their part by playing it loud most of the time on Disaster Button. Instead of Disaster Button, this song should be called “Explosion Button” because of its volume and energy on this track.
“Lightning” ends A Hundred Million Suns with a track that contains three different tracks and is over 16 minutes long in total. The first track is called “And if this storm ends?”. It starts with a steady piano playing for a while before Gary enters with this voice. While he sings, the music seems to be enriched by instruments like the French horn and trombone. It doesn’t really have a chorus, just a line of words where Gary sings. Not a bad first track of a three track song. Going into the second track, it’s called “Sunlight Through the Flags.” As it continues from “What If This Storm Ends?”, it has a faster-paced piano at the beginning. The problem here is when you get to a point where the guitar just kicks in with a slow looping guitar riff in the background while Gary says, “Don’t worry, it’s not all sound, this is the safest place you’ve ever found, the only noise that beats”. out is our, tying our tea from honey jars…” Ultimately, this track ends with the piano first played at the beginning. The third track of “The Lightning Strike” arrives, “Daybreak” harnesses the synths to his opening.When Gary enters the verse here, each line of the verse is sung with a voice that stretches and pulls.
The music suddenly takes a different turn with the bass coming in with a more obvious sound after the first verse. As it progresses on this track Snow Patrol only focuses more on the music with the most obvious sound being the guitar where again playing can be heard in a way Snow Patrol is always known for. A very ambitious ending to Snow Patrol!
