Snow Patrol - A Hundred Million Suns - 2008

Fifth album, following 2006's multi-million-selling 'Eyes Open', from the Northern Irish pop-rock quintet. Recorded in Germany and Ireland with Garret "Jacknife" Lee (U2, Bloc Party, REM) once more at the helm, the album sees them exploring a somewhat rockier, although still decidedly radio-friendly, direction than on the introspective 'Eyes Open'. As evinced by the single 'Take Back The City', the band's knack for writing catchy pop hooks remains intact.
Track Listing
If There's a Rocket Tie Me To It - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Cenzo Townshend, Neil Comber, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher
Crack The Shutters - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Cenzo Townshend, Neil Comber, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher
Take Back The City - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Cenzo Townshend, Dave Emery, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher
Lifeboats - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher
The Golden Floor - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher
Please Just Take These Photos From My Hands - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Cenzo Townshend, Neil Comber, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher
Set Down Your Glass - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher
The Planets Bend Between Us - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Cenzo Townshend, Neil Comber, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher
Engines - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher
Disaster Button - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Cenzo Townshend, Neil Comber, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher

The Lightning Strike - Garret Lee, Snow Patrol, Tom McFall, Sam Bell, Tilmann Ilse, Gary Lightbody, Nathan Connolly, Paul Wilson, Tom Simpson, Jonny Quinn, Owen Lewis, Karen Kelleher, Avshalom Caspi, Phil Rose, Guy Barker, Colin Sheen, David Stewart, Evgeny Chebykin, James Anderson, Mark Law, James Jarvis, Alex Cope, Alison Benbow, Ben Finn, Claire Fletcher, Claire Whitehead, Dave Garioch, Dave Soderberg, David Taylor, ¿Desola Haastrup, Edward Sykes, Frances Rowberry, Gareth Wigmore, Gordon Banner, Gretchen Cummings, Hayley Kruger, Helen Russill, Henry Ross, Ian Crawford, James Howard, Jeremy James, John Catherall, Judy Taylor, Julia Saperia, Mark Rivers-Moore, Mary Jeavans, Matthew Jelf, Peter Jennings, Peter Kenny, Philip Pratt, Rebecca Wallis, Richard Furse, Roz Sherris, Sara Coffey, Sarah Meunier, Sharon Kniss, Stephen Wilmot, Stuart Murray-Turnbull, Thomas Smith, Tim Meunier, Val Reid, Victor Gan, Mo Hausler, Cenzo Townshend, Neil Comber

The Snow Patrol we meet on A Hundred Million Suns is a band facing the same dilemma that Coldplay met on 2008's Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends; having conquered the world with a rousing, melancholy brand of MOR indie, where now? On the surface, A Hundred Million Suns seems to suggest, nowhere especially new: producer Jacknife Lee, who first worked with the band on 2003's Final Straw and went on to work with the likes of U2 and REM returns to the fold; and an opening brace of songs suggest that a successful formula--chiming guitars, gentle builds, and Gary Lightbody's quavering, tremulous vocal--persists. Still, "Take Back The City", a windswept, electronic-tinged rocker, rather does for this band what "Dakota" did for Stereophonics, proving that a spot of sleek, synthetic motorik is not beyond their grasp, and there's a new, bright optimism to Lightbody's lyrics that sets the likes of "The Planets Bend Between Us" in light relief to some of Snow Patrol's earlier work. If you want experiment, though, you'll have to wait until the closing "The Lightning Strike", a 16-minute track in three parts that investigates Phillip Glass-style minimalism and electronic beats with some aptitude. --Louis Pattison 
Customer Reviews

A decent addition to the Snow Patrol catalogue 
Despite the very mixed and predominantly lukewarm reviews (and poor title), this is actually a rather good album which is always going to suffer by comparison following, as it does, two very good and similar-sounding releases. If you enjoyed either (or both) 'Final Straw' or 'Eyes Open' then there is a very good chance you will like 'A Hundred Million Suns'. There is no huge departure from their trademark, well-honed Snow Patrol sound, no massive progression, simply another set of well-written, well-performed songs, although perhaps it could be said this is their most laid-back album yet, overall, and their harder edge seems a mite softer on this release. Other than that, it is business as usual. 

Worthy additions to the Snow Patrol catalogue include 'Take Back The City' (the verse of which sounds very much like 'Stranger' from ELO's 1983 album, 'Secret Messages') the energetic 'Please Just Take These Photos From My Hands' and the adventurous final track 'The Lightning Strike', a three-part Snow Patrol epic which is probably the most remarkable song on the album. With each repeat play, this album sounds better and better and its individual charms begins to make their mark, however, with nothing here as immediately striking as 'Chasing Cars', 'Spitting Games' or 'Run' you really do have to give 'A Hundred Million Suns' a fair hearing to get the full benefit of this album - but it is eventually worth the effort. 

10/10 to Amazon 
The review say it all; a really great Album. However, what I would like to say is well done Amazon. I for one hate the pretentious rubbish written about Apple and in particular their hateful I-Tunes. I don't have an iPOD although respect their design. I have a Zen which I love and now my wife and both the kids have one too. Amazon have opened up the market and with these £3.00 downloads, only those with anal retention are still going to regularly illegally download. At last someone has realised that charging £8-£10 for a download is taking the rip. If you keep the downloads down to a reasonable price then we will pay. Don't let us down Amazon! 

A great evolution 
My first "contact" with SP was "Eyes open": I inmediately loved the album, as it pushed me to buy the previuos ones. I must confess that the two first collections were not of my taste, except for a very few songs, but "Final straw" finally threw me to the Patrol's feet and songs like "Chocolate", "Run", "How to be dead", "Spitting Games or "Somewhere a clock is ticking" became a part of my being. This last "One hundred million suns" is as good as the previous two and even better, at least for me; I find a good bunch of great songs all along the set, most of them being better than the hit single "Take back the city": "Crack the shutters" recovers the spirit of my personal fav of all SP songs, "Chocolate", I trace influences of U2 and Coldplay in several tracks, like "Engines" or "If there's a rocket...", also love "Please just take...", "Disaster button" or the first and the final parts of "The lightning strike", the rest of tracks keep a very good level. I've listened to the album many many times, and each time I find new things that make me love it deeper and deeper, specially "If there's a rocket tie me to it": it must be the next single.