‘Final Straw’ by Snow Patrol

As it was with most people, ‘Final Straw’ was the first real exposure I had to Snow Patrol, barring regular mentions in the music press. I can’t even claim I found the album earlier than the world at large – I too heard ‘Run’ and decided to buy the album off the back of its success.

In fairness, though, sometimes the time is just right for a band. I still haven’t heard either of the albums which preceded this one, and perhaps I never will, but ‘Final Straw’ had to be a success – it’s too good not to be one.

There’s nothing earth-shatteringly original across the album as a whole, just a solid collection of songs with enough quirks to keep things interesting. Most of these quirks would be gradually ironed out over the next two albums, to the detriment of the band as a whole, but this album is full of them – the programming in ‘How To Be Dead’, the break in ‘Gleaming Auction’, the end of ‘Spitting Games’, the vocal interplay in ‘Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking’. ‘Same’ brings the album to a close in suitably low-key anthemic style. And sitting in the middle of the album is ‘Run’, the track that made everything afterwards possible. It’s a little blunted by familiarity now, but it’s a great song, far better than ‘Chasing Cars’ would go on to be.

I’d love to know how this album fits into the story. Every Snow Patrol album from this point has depicted a gradual slide into mediocrity, so I’d like to know whether the first two albums are brilliant, or whether this is a genuine peak. Perhaps one day I’ll find out.