Snow Patrol — A Hundred Million Suns

When Snow Patrol began recording A Hundred Million Suns, their fifth album, they intended to write "less ballads." You'd really never know it. First of all, frontman Gary Lightbody wanted to write an album about being in love. That's a concept that practically screams "ballads," and it's resulted in what's perhaps Snow Patrol's most ballad-centred album to date. For all their talk of not writing another "Run," there are several songs here that hearken back to that track. For example, when you write a tune that's about waking up next to someone in bed and feeling completely in love with them, how can it not be a ballad? For the most part, this is a typical Snow Patrol record. There are some up-tempo rockers ("If There's A Rocket Tie Me To It," "Take Back This City" and "Please Just Take These Photos From My Hands") to accompany the super-ballads ("Set Down Your Glass," which sounds ridiculously like Final Straw's "Grazed Knees"). The louder, more anthemic tracks are the strongest, and the quieter ones miss the mark entirely. The band try to change their sound up by adding a 16-minute closer, "The Lightning Strike," which is really just three ballads thrown together. Unfortunately, this is ultimately an album that proves Snow Patrol can't really change or innovate their sound no matter how hard they try and they'll probably continue to write ballads for the rest of their career.

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