“Fallen Empires” – Snow Patrol

Suggested by Jenia S

What should you check out during the week of January 26th 2012? How about Snow Patrols new album “Fallen Empires”?

The band will be playing in Montreal at the Metropolis in April.

Fallen Empires is the sixth studio album by Snow Patrol. The album was released on 11 November 2011.^[3]

When asked about the writing process for the album on 7 September 2011, Gary Lightbody commented by saying “It’s the longest album we’ve ever made by far but also the best. We took our time and I also had some bouts of writer’s block. It’s the first time it’s happened for such a long time. I’ve had days when I haven’t been able to write. Since 2009 I’ve gone through three writer’s blocks but I’m glad because the results are great afterwards. They probably made me write better songs.”^[4] Snow Patrol plans to go on a “Fallen Empires tour” in 2012 with the first date being at the O2 in Dublin.^[5] with an expanded UK and worldwide tour to be announced shortly. The song “New York” can be heard at the very end of episode 158 (Season 8 Episode 10) of Grey’s Anatomy.

Upon its release, Fallen Empires received mixed to average reviews.^[20] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 63, based on twenty-four reviews, which indicates “mixed or average reviews”.^[20]

James Christopher Monger wrote a favorable review for Allmusic, stating that the album “establishes an expansive vista of sound early on, bathing fairly simple melodies in waves of fastidious loops and sparse percussion.”^[10] Mike Haydock wrote a positive review for BBC Music, analysing that “Best of all are the moments when Snow Patrol blend the two approaches together, combining their own aesthetic with an Achtung Baby adoration.”^[11] Entertainment Weekly’s Melissa Maerz wrote that “For all the sentiment, it’s the simplest stuff that rings true.”^[13] The New York Times’s Nate Chinen praised the songwriting, saying that “What makes this all feel reasonably unforced is the abiding earnestness in the songwriting.”^[16] The A.V. Club wrote that the album “it’s comforting at worst and occasionally fantastic.”^[21]

Dave Simpson wrote an average review, saying that “Although the variation in styles doesn’t make for the most cohesive album, the default mood is still downbeat but anthemic–songs for couples to cling tightly to one another while raising mobiles in the air.”^[14] While NOW Magazine found out that “In the first few songs they stretch themselves creatively and come up with promising results, but halfway through it’s back to overwrought ballads and middle-of-the-road mid-tempo rock songs.”^[22]

A mixed review came from Rolling Stone’s Stacey Anderson, who wrote that “Snow Patrol fall back to the blandly inoffensive safe zone–though at least they sound a little brighter.”^[17] Pitchfork Media thought that “the results are goofy.”^[20] The Telegraph criticized the album for “sticks too rigidly to the formula.”

*information from Wikipedia