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Thursday, March 28
The Indiana Daily Student

'Fallen' out of relevance

Fallen Empires

Snow Patrol, the Irish band now based in Glasgow, Scotland, realized international fame in 2006 when its album “Eyes Open” went platinum in the United States.

Its hit single “Chasing Cars” had a sound that set it above much of its competition on the radio and earned significant play time because of it.

Six years later, with one lackluster album in between, Snow Patrol’s sound on “Fallen Empires” has unfortunately not changed at all; it comes across as dated and unambitious instead of something that might inspire DJs to spin it around the clock.

Powered by front man Gary Lightbody’s vocals on every track, “Empires” still sounds well and good — it is just easy to fall into a rut when listening to it.

Lightbody is a fine vocalist and honest lyricist, but there are very few moments to break up the monotony.

While the band misses on tracks like opener “I’ll Never Let Go” and “The Weight of Love,” there are still a couple of standouts that redeem the album and pull it back into mediocrity.

“This Isn’t Everything You Are” is a beautiful track, evidence that Snow Patrol has the potential to make it back to the top.

They just need to have the gall to shake things up and grab it. History says it’s not likely, but maybe even Snow Patrol is bored of their sound.

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