Snow Patrol -- A Hundred Million Suns

7/10

Well, I'll be. On their third major label album, A Hundred Million Suns. Snow Patrol actually sound like a real band. The drummer isn't going to set the world on fire, but he actually sounds like a real person and not a drum machine this time. The bassist displays actual character, and the mix actually allows him to display it. The guitar sounds and tones seem pored over. Gary Lightbody's lyrics aren't going to be confused for Shakespeare, but he finally abandons that dopey, dire, "If you break up with me, I will die" vibe from those last two albums, and actually seems to be in touch with reality this time. Most importantly, the songs feel like they actually contain some space.
After some fun sounds in the high energy, but as per usual, incredibly polite opener, the band get the requisite cheeseball ballad out of the way with "Crack the Shutters." Once that's done, though, for once, anything goes. "Take Back the City" is a bit of generic, inoffensive fun, but then "Lifeboats" and "The Golden Floor" come from absolutely nowhere, a one-two punch of the best songs Snow Patrol have ever recorded.
"Lifeboats" is stretched out, full of space, atmosphere, and a delightfully chill vibe. It's mostly acoustic guitar, a borderline trip-hop beat and bassline, spacey electronics, and some gnarly strings. But most importantly, and unlike absolutely anything Snow Patrol have recorded up to this point, "Lifeboats" is cool. When the song ends with just the drums and bass holding it down,  I have to wonder what got into them. But when "The Golden Floor" pops up next, it's apparent that the coolness is somehow still there. Featuring similar instrumentation to its predecessor, "The Golden Floor" is dark and mystical, and when Lightbody sings, "I'm not afraid of anything/even time/it'll eke away at everything/but we'll be fine," is that...is that swagger? Swagger? In a Snow Patrol song?
"Please Just Take These Photos from My Hands," a sentimental, upbeat pop-rock song, seems to say, "Settle down now. This is still Snow Patrol." However, after a batch of "definitely Snow Patrol songs, but just a little less lame," the album begins to pick up energy, leading up into the pretty excellent closing 16-minute rock-opera, "The Lightning Strike."
Yes, I just said 16-minute rock opera, and while it doesn't exactly rock, it's still a fun, diverse, eclectic, propulsive, and enjoyable 16-minutes. It's likely the best thing this band will ever do. So here, I stopped buying Snow Patrol albums, and I'll likely never buy another one, but at least A Hundred Million Suns has some great songs to come back to, and ends my three-album Snow Patrol collection on a high note.


2008 Geffen
1. If There's a Rocket Tie Me to It 4:19
2. Crack the Shutters 3:20
3. Take Back the City 4:40
4. Lifeboats 4:41
5. The Golden Floor 3:19
6. Please Just Take These Photos from My Hands 4:25
7. Set Down Your Glass 3:43
8. The Planets Bend Between Us 4:18
9. Engines 5:10
10. Disaster Button 3:58
11. The Lightning Strike (I. What If This Storm Ends?/II. The Sunlight Through the Flags/III. Daybreak) 16:18