Eyes Open Artist: Snow Patrol

  Eyes Open (Interscope Records) is Snow Patrol's fourth studio album. I got my copy of the this UK indie band after I heard their Final Straw album almost two years ago. Snow Patrol could be ranked among those shoe gazer bands but they have more to them than soaring melodies-they rock.The album opens with the title track Eyes Open which is a big hit. The nice hohohoho hook that dominates the verse chorus verse part worked effectively along with the crunching guitars and somber vocals of Gary Lightbody.


   Hands Open is another good track that opens with guitar strummng and reaches into distorted climax. Chasing Cars could be their biggest hit to date heavily featured on MTV and gained popular radio airplay. It was also feature on Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill. It's a sort of ballad that starts with simple guitar pluckings and some glokenspeil every now and then, and builds up into resounding chorus that's so catchy it's a perfect pop song.The chorus goes: "If I lay here If I just lay here Would you lie with me And just forget the world". 


  Shut Your Eyes is OK but it fails to capture the catchiness of the previous tracks. It's Beginning To Get To Me has a bit of similarity to You're All I Have, while You Could Be Happy is a slow track that's almost a lullaby. It has wonderful glokenspeil parts and for some reason this track reminds me of Bjork. Make This Go On Forever (a duet), Set The Fire To The Third Bar are both upbeat and just so so tracks.They're followed by Headlights On Dark Roads, another wonderful track, then Open your Eyes.The album closes with Finish Line. Another achievement that the band could add to their sleeves would be the fact that they have a song featured in the latest Spiderman movie. Too bad this song is not included in this album.