Musical acts have come and gone over the last twenty years, but in Alternative Rock, few have been as consistently successful as Snow Patrol. One of the big UK bands to emerge in the early 2000s, along with others like Coldplay, Editors, and Keane, Snow Patrol had humble beginnings that are important to recognize. A band that has origins that date back thirty years, as Snow Patrol they released 1998’s Songs for Polarbears and 2001’s When It’s All Over We Still Have to Clear Up with little mainstream recognition outside the UK market. Taking their lumps, there was a time where they even played to microscope crowds before any taste of real success.
Perhaps a story not unique to others making their way as a band, Snow Patrol had been tested and thankfully the hard work paid off when people started to really pay attention with the release of the single “Run” in early 2004. A track off their 2003 album Final Straw, let us just say it could be looked at as a launching point for Snow Patrol as momentum built for 2006’s Eyes Open. In fact, Eyes Open found them reaching heights unimaginable; becoming the best-selling album of 2006 in the UK, and it is one of the best-selling albums of the 2000s era, period. Truly a remarkable turn of events for Snow Patrol, 2008’s A Hundred Million Suns, leading through to 2018’s Wildness have all had significant success.
Which leads us to 2024… six long years after the band’s last studio album, and thirty years since the early days of conception. You have to wonder, what are Snow Patrol doing now? Well, it has not been all dead air since Wildness; because in 2019 they put out Reworked (a collection of two EPs featuring re-imagined older songs and some newer tracks). Beyond this, in 2020 they put out The Fireside Sessions; another EP made of songs created during the Covid lockdowns with all proceeds from the project will go to the anti-poverty charity. Furthermore, since the last time a full-length album was recorded by Snow Patrol, long-time members Jonny Quinn and Paul Wilson had both stepped away.
Bringing you up to speed, Snow Patrol Lead Singer/Lyricist Gary Lightbody also suffered a major loss in 2019 when his dad tragically passed. For anyone who has lost a beloved parent, know this is a life changing event. Something everyone deals with differently, perhaps it can provide some insight into the headspace of Lightbody in recent years. Tried emotionally, now he and Snow Patrol return with a proper new LP entitled The Forest Is the Path on September 13th through Republic Records.
What is the band’s eighth overall studio record, a few samplers have been tossed about since May; starting with the single “The Beginning,” followed by “This is the Sound of Your Voice” and “All.” Each offering very personal, real emotion both within the musical composition, as well as Lightbody’s lyrics, you can feel a sense of release trailing each song. Fitting very well into Snow Patrol’s style of mellower Rock music, what each track does is bring the band directly back into focus for you.
Great teasers for the album as a collection, The Forest Is The Path has an underlined mood surrounding regrets, but learning to accept them and finding a way forward. It is about coming to the realization that some past mistakes may be painful to recount, but how can we ever be whole again unless we let go? A very relatable feeling for anyone, as a master lyricist, Lightbody finds a way to articulate something that is universal, yet exaggeratedly personal.
With this in mind, the album is balanced between more stripped back tracks such as “Talking About Hope,” and others more upbeat guitar/piano driven selections, like “Years That Fall.” Beyond these, plenty of dynamic sound drench the The Forest Is The Path; including “Hold Me In The Fire,” as well as the very radio friendly, chant-along quality of “Your Heart Home.”
So, was the wait for a new Snow Patrol album worth it? Yes, because these songs are the product of years of life experience and the mark of songwriters who just know how to create richly textured Alternative Rock. That is why Cryptic Rock welcomes Snow Patrol’s return, giving The Forest Is The Path 4.5 out of 5 stars.
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