On the prison of identity
I have a confession.
Not that I specifically identify as liking one genre of music above all else (country), my eclectic tastes (hardbass) are refined (romantic impressionists like Liszt and Chopin) and need not be accused of exclusivity (blues). If a song is good, which I pride myself on being able to tell ... sometimes, I will simply like that song.
That being said, there are a few artists, given my infatuation with their body of work, I would be absolutely heartbroken if the news should break they were terrible people.
One of those artists is a little band called Snow Patrol.
Not The Fray.
Not Keane (though I do love me a little Keane).
And certainly not Coldplay.
Only Snow Patrol.
Now I am only woman, and one not lacking emotions. So let me tell you that when I heard their newest album (The Forest is the Path, find it on Apple Music, YouTube, Spotify, Napster, and a Media Markt near you), I screamed in anguish for forty-five minutes, poured myself a cup of tea, and started Googling Gary Lightbody. (Yes, he's still single, I hope he calls me so that I can ruin his life in the name of Art.)
What to expect from listening to it?
Simply put, tunes worthy of being stuck in your head, and emotional pain like you've never experienced.
What is it about?
Well, love, I guess. But seen by someone scared witless, who desperately craves it but doesn't quite know how to receive it, put eloquently in simple words and melodies that don't need a lot of frill and go over harmonies that are easy, sad, and hopeful.
Seeing that you understand what the record is about from the very first lines:
This is not a love song I'm just checking that your light's still on I just want to feel like I belong But I don't know where I am. I've not quite broken everything I've loved That's why I hold you in museum gloves And you can ask me anything you like, Just don't ask me why I'm like this.
I wondered... Did it resonate with anyone else?
And that led me on a path of reading reviews for the album I already heard thrice: a path most treacherous.
And that, kids, is how I met Phil.
A particularly charming review of this record was published in an online mag named Metal Planet Music. Yes, it's exactly what you would expect.
Starting off with a cheery, "Apologies for being a little late to the party on this one, but, it takes a bit of time for an album to sink in, sometime to really digest it. Kinda like a strong peaty whiskey, you need the first couple of shots to take the edge off your tastes buds, then after a while, it becomes tolerable!" Phil really wants you to know that he is straight. Thank you for clarifying that, since you were paid to review a Snow Patrol album, that notion was in serious doubt.
Sarcasm aside, Phil does catch himself in this particularly harsh analogy, so he decides to explain that he is currently wearing a Motörhead shirt from 1979, because he's straight, even though this men's tee isn't even his!
He admits that Snow Patrol had been on the rise to fame for over 20 years, though after two decades, me thinks they may have risen already.
Also he drops compliments like "sing along chorus", "inoffensive lyrics" and "masterful pop talent", eventually labelling them as "far from rock, not quite pop, [..] on the tail end of guitar-based indie of the late 90s". My dude, have you used your sharp analytical mind on Motörhead? Maybe once the vapors of another man's sweat and beer would settle, you'd see they made not quite punk, not quite rock, on the tail end of every drug problem on Wikipedia.
Then it's off to the races, he goes through the tracks with much bite and venom, "Opening Track ‘All’, instantly telegraphs the classic Snow Patrol sound with the slightly echoed voice, coupled with a touch of chorus and delay. Only having been to Glastonbury once, I’m not sure I’m qualified to comment, and seeing as Snow Patrol have only played once in 2004, I’m not sure they would be either!" Solid burn, Philster, touring England is indeed the margin for success to a band from Northern Ireland.
‘Never Really Tire’ opens with a pretty moody piano, and I nearly spat out my herbal tea with the first word ‘fuck’ is sung. This isn’t the Snow Patrol I pictured that unassuming teenagers and early 20 somethings would listen to swaying in the breeze in a summer festival. Maybe I have been wrong all along – what have I been missing?Well, they've been swearing consistently in almost every track before that one. This one, filled with so much pain, so much anger, is about settling for less than you deserve out of fear, and how much it hurts people who love you. The last lines of the verse are a plea to finally let go:
Kill all your heroes Now there's nowhere left to hide Is your money where your mouth is? Or has something in you died?
How could you ever think they were sellouts?
Phil's response is only,
More haunting vocals, and more isolated piano for ‘These Lies’. Wanting to get into the meaning, I found myself not quite able to see the depth of the track, and then when ‘What if Nothing Breaks’, well, breaks, I’m finding myself wanting for the darker, or more update (upbeat?) beat tracks of earlier in the album.Oh Phil, it's right there:
'Cause I've told myself a million times who you weren't So I can finally forget who you were 'Cause if who you are is everything and I missed it How could I live now like some counterfeit?
This song is called These Lies because he needs to lie to himself he didn't love her: having realized it too late, he can't forgive himself, "It's not like I want you to wonder, if I'm lost and I'm thinking of you, because yes, I am fine and I'm finally clearer, to understand what it is to be nearer and that love is just pain in reverse."
And again for the seats in the back:
And it's not like I want you to wonder If I'm lost and I'm thinking of you 'Cause, yes, I am fine and I'm finally clearer To understand what it is to be nearer And that love is just pain in reverse
Pain is sudden and once it passes, you feel better than you did before, whereas love feels better than before and ends in never-ending pain. This song has emotionally violated me. Thanks, Gary.
And what does Phil have to say in summation?
Well, it’s Snow Patrol. It’s recognisably, and consistently Snow Patrol. And if you love Snow Patrol, you’ll love this newest addition, their 8th studio album. Despite fighting my biases, I recognise the expertise, and the experience these guys have. They’ve refined their art over a 20 year period, and for many, it’ll continue to deliver what’s expected. Fair play to them, and as long as they’re enjoying making it, and the fans enjoy listening to it, then I don’t see that being anything other than a good thing. Keep it up guys.Snow Patrol be snow patrolling, huh?
Gary has some choice words to say in the final song of the album:
So this is what it is to be a man To fight the tears, the pain, and lose. I'm trying too hard not to understand 'Cause when I do, I have to choose.
And I tend to agree, maybe Phil is trying too hard not to understand this album because if he did, he'd have to choose: face his pain, which is only human, or continue living actively ignoring it, like an annoying roommate who steals shirts he can't throw away.
Now don't hate Phil, hate the world Phil lives in. The world that doesn't let him keep his integrity if he listens to another man who is emotionally honest. That world hasn't had snow in years.