3/5
Before releasing their
newest LP, ‘Fallen Empires’, both singer Gary Lightbody and lead guitarist
Nathan Connolly of Snow Patrol claimed it would not only be their longest album
to date, but also their best. And they were not wrong... Oh wait – yes they
were! Fallen Empires is less an album and more a collection of songs. The whole
thing is very disjointed and feels like an amalgamation of 2 or 3 half-formed records.
Though it has many strong points, overall it has just too many forgettable
tracks to be considered their best. It is, however, most definitely their
longest, and certainly feels that way when listening right through. It’s not at
all an excruciating listen, nor is it incredibly disappointing, just altogether
OKAY.
Part of the problem
with this album is the overwhelming production for some sadly underwhelming
tracks. For example, the single ‘This Isn’t Everything You Are’. The mix and
the instrumentation make it huge and anthem-like, but on closer inspection, it
really lacks substance or any sort of a hook. It is just not very memorable,
but does seem impressive at first and is a pleasant, albeit, throwaway track.
Perhaps a better example would be the sweetly nostalgic (though woefully
titled) ‘Lifening’. It contains some rather charming lyrics, and though there
isn’t anything terribly insightful, that isn’t the point of the song – it is
merely a sentimental meandering into his hopes for life. Lifening is a song
which feels like it should be tackled in its simplest, most innocent of forms;
that is, Lightbody and the acoustic guitar, but there is so much thrown in that
the sensitivity of it becomes completely lost and neither the lyrics nor the
music are strong enough to justify that.
The first three tracks
on this album bring the band into an electronica style, which works incredibly
well for them. The opener, ‘I’ll Never Let Go’, is probably the strongest as a
song on the album and is reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem and early U2, while
‘Called Out in the Dark’ is a playful, fun pop song, leading into ‘The Weight
of Love’ which feels as though parts were layered on top of each other
precariously, with very unusual, though interesting, harmonies. The title track
itself is wonderfully produced, like a cacophonous wall of sound which later
collapses to a choir and Lightbody leading the revolution. ‘The Symphony’ also
is electronica based and is a wonderful ending to the album, almost sealing it.
However, it doesn’t end there, but goes on into the rather boring ‘The
President’ and drags on further with a teaser for their next album.
With regard to style,
Fallen Empires jumps around quite a bit, with songs similar to their previous
work, electronica and the country twangs of ‘The Garden Rules’. Although it can
be interesting, this sometimes makes it easy to drift off during. Overall
Fallen Empires can be a tad boring, but worth a listen for Snow Patrol fans.
No comments:
Post a Comment