Boy, I missed this one. Snow Patrol’s ‘Eyes Open’ Album

In general I am not a big fan of how radio selects songs from CDs to play. In this case the radio made me revisit a CD.

I am a Snow Patrol fan. So as soon as their new CD Eyes Open came out I got it and threw it in the CD player. Maybe I was having a bad day. Maybe I just didn’t listen. But I was underwhelmed and disappointed (although Chasing Cars is a nice song).

Then of course the radio, being the radio, released the first ‘single’ (I cannot remember which one it was) and it only confirmed my disappointment. The CD then just got buried somewhere in my gym locker (which the back of my Chevy Blazer is often called).

Then one day not too long ago I heard on the radio “Just say Yes” their newest song. It made me write this post.

It is a nifty song. Kind of a nice juxtaposition of typical Snow Patrol languid singing and a high energy rhythm beat (very unlike “the patrol”). Plus. The song uses a songwriting trick I love. The song is steadily thumping along like a rapidly beating heart only to stop and have the lyrics “I can feel your heartbeat” be sung over no beat and then the beat picks up all over again. Makes for good listening.

Next. “Shut your Eyes”. This song is everything you love about Snow Patrol plus a nifty little live audience twist that is pretty cool. And then Open Eyes (which I think is a nice songwriting move versus shut your eyes on a CD) started being played on the radio. Another very nice song.

Anyway. I still dislike the first song release (and that is a whole new post on the “what the fuck are record labels listening to when they decide the first song to release” rant). But I did revisit the CD and found it quite good. A couple of dogs on it but that kind of comes with a Snow Patrol CD.

Once again I caveat all my recos with “if you like this kind of music” you will like this. Oddly this CD reflects the maddening positives and negatives of radio play selection but Snow Patrol shouldn’t pay the price for their stupidity.

Written by Bruce