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Snow Patrol

Eyes Open

[Polydor]

It was on a clifftop in southern Ireland that Snow Patrol chose to record their fourth album - and,  like the horizon  before them, the future is looking rosy.

With this set, their fourth studio offering, it would appear that the band have the wind in their sails.

And with passionate guitar workouts  such as Make This Go On Forever pointing the way, the good ship Snow Patrol appears set for a smooth ride.

Opener You're All I Have is sure to be a favourite on  summer festival playlists, belting along an empty  road with the top down and the wind in your hair.

Chasing Cars is  a resonant example of  Gary Lightbody's ability to marry lyrics with hooks and melodies. The lines - 'All that I am/ All that I ever was/ Is here in your perfect eyes/ They're all I can see' -  aren't about romance and chivalry,  just  honesty and everyday emotions  woven into a well-crafted song.

The 11 tracks segue from blizzard to light snowfall, and the overall sound is innately organic.

Then there are the anthemic numbers such as Hands Open that are easy to imagine being belted out  of 20,000  festival-goers' mouths.

The boys, who hail from Northern Ireland and Scotland, even managed to enlist the considerable talents of pop-folk blue blood  Martha Wainwright on Set the Fire to the Third Bar which briefly takes the limelight away from Lightbody's luminous vocals. The result makes it a stand-out track - not for any groundbreaking, but more for the way  their two voices blend so beautifully.

One of the few  low points is the rip-off on You Could be Happy  of Icelandic singer Bjork's Pagan Poetry from 2001's Vespertine.

That said, it looks like Snow Patrol's rite of passage has been cemented with Eyes Open; and  it looks like good sailing from here.



Snow Patrol