I always think of this album as the make or break 3rd album even though it is the Patrol's 5th outing. The first 2 albums `Songs for Polar bears' and `When it's all over we still have to clean up', although there are some good songs on both these albums; compared to the later 2, `Final Straw' and `Eyes Open', they feel like weak albums. This is shown through their live set when `Final straw' came out; the first 2 albums disappeared into obscurity with only rare appearances given to the tracks of these albums. The question is will the tracks from `A Hundred Million suns' become a mainstay in their live set or disappear as quickly as they were made.
If the first track `If there's a rocket tie me to it' is anything to go by it would indicate the former. The song starts off the album gently before gathering momentum into a thumping indie rock song which has got to be a contender for the third single. You can tell throughout the album, Lightbody and co are trying to keep the album fresh and different, often to varying degrees of success. With Lightbody's signature vocals throughout, it always can be recognised instantly as a Snow Patrol record.
Second and third track `Crack the Shutters' and `Take back the city' continue the momentum from the first track. `Crack the Shutters starts off with a chirpy piano before the song comes to life as Lightbody escalates the song to the chorus with `Crack the shutters open wide, I wanna be with you every night and day'. A class song much like the rockier, punchier `Take back the city. Both are great singles and along with `If there's a rocket tie me to it', will fit perfectly in to their live set.
After a storming start to the album it is almost as if they ran out of gas as fourth track `Lifeboats' sends the album into mediocrity as apart from a few exceptions `Please just take these photos from my hands' and `Disaster Button' which bring some much needed oomph to the album. It just feels like the other tracks have no real hooks or memorable moments. Lightbody's vocals go into automatic mode making the songs feel lifeless. There is just no variation in the vocals or connection to the lyrics turning what could have been a great album into just an ok album.
When I first so the length of the last track I was instantly intrigued as it lasted 16 minutes! I almost fell off my chair when I saw this. The first thought that came to my mind was that this was another frustratingly long gap between the actual track and the hidden track. My next thought was that they might actually be going prog!? Well it turns out I was wrong on both fronts as it is actually 3 tracks back to back which are pretty average and the fact that they have tried to link them unsuccessfully does not really help.
Overall compared to their last 2 albums, this is a slightly disappointing effort, especially given the strength of the singles. The singles will slot nicely into their live set, along with a few of the other album tracks but unfortunately the rest of the album lacks the same quality. No doubt this will not stop Snow Patrol on their quest to make the step up from arenas to stadiums, but they will still have to stick predominantly with the older songs that got them to the position they are in, in the first place.
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