Album: Eyes Open

Song Title

Time

You Could Be Happy

You're All I Have

Hands Open

Make This Go on Forever

Chasing Cars

Set the Fire to the Third Bar

Headlights on Dark Roads

Shut Your Eyes

It's Beginning to Get to Me

10)

Open Your Eyes

11)

Finish Line

Album: Eyes Open

Song Title

Time

You Could Be Happy

You're All I Have

Hands Open

Make This Go on Forever

Chasing Cars

Set the Fire to the Third Bar

Headlights on Dark Roads

Shut Your Eyes

It's Beginning to Get to Me

10)

Open Your Eyes

11)

Finish Line

Performer Notes

Following up its 2004 breakthrough album, FINAL STRAW, the Ireland-bred/Scotland-based rock band Snow Patrol opted for an even more accessible sound on EYES OPEN. Frontman Gary Lightbody has always shown a penchant for crafting pop-savvy tunes, but this 11-track set takes his songwriting to new heights, as best revealed on the energetic anthems "You're All I Have" and "Hands Open." While these songs display grandeur on the scale of U2 and Coldplay, Lightbody also knows how to ease into a tender ballad, most notably the chiming "You Could Be Happy," which features delicate Bjork-like backing. Though much of the record is upbeat, Lightbody's melancholy sensibility still comes into play on the brooding "Shut Your Eyes" and "Set Fire to the Third Bar," a haunting duet with Martha Wainwright. Longtime fans may miss Snow Patrol's indie-pop quirkiness (a la "Get Balsamic Vinegar...Quick You Fool" from SONGS FOR POLARBEARS), but in its place is a mature and assured approach that is sure to appeal to a wide audience.

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.98) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "EYES OPEN is even more decadently cushy, setting chiming guitars, strings and electronics under Gary Lightbody's aching croons."

Q (p.125) - Ranked #18 in Q Magazine's "100 Greatest Albums of 2006" -- "[H]ere's where the Northern Irish five-piece left their indie roots behind and started to look like world contenders."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.108) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Snow Patrol have delivered an album big on lighter-waving anthems and arms-around-your-best-mate camaraderie."