Snow Patrol warm with emotion

If Doves and Nada Surf got together and churned out 12 well developed and memorable (albeit brief) tracks, it might sound something like what Snow Patrol has managed to accomplish on its newest album Final Straw. Granted, it's a rock retread, but there are enough pitch perfect musical refinements to redeem it for not breaking new ground -- it still sounds great and demands further listening.\nShining more positive light on Belle & Sebastian's host Jeepster Records, Ireland's Snow Patrol uses brevity to its advantage in building a wall of sound and then tearing it down again. "Run" is a soaring power ballad (but without any of the bombast which the expression connotes), and tracks like "Spitting Games" and "Ways & Means" are upbeat, exciting and over before you know it. Rather than build upon droning melodies, Final Straw keeps repetition to a minimum.\nIt seems obvious to make the comparison between Snow Patrol and Coldplay, though the latter has had a lot more time to develop musically. British musicians have a talent for making emotive music which doesn't come across as contrived or depressingly pathetic, and Final Straw keeps with that trend. If they're the next Coldplay, it won't be all too surprising.