Polydor Records
Release Date: August 4th 2023
Reviewed by: Joshua Andre
Snow Patrol– Final Straw (20th Anniversary Edition) (Amazon mp3/iTunes)
Track Listing:
CD1
1. How To Be Dead
2. Wow
3. Gleaming Auction
4. Whatever’s Left
5. Spitting Games
6. Chocolate
7. Run
8. Grazed Knees
9. Ways & Means
10. Tiny Little Fractures
11. Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking
12. Same
13. Steal (Spitting Games B-side)
14. Stronger Than Before (Demo)
15. By Heart (Demo)
16. We Can Run Away Now They’re All Dead And Gone
17. Tired *previously Commercially Unreleased
18. Post Punk Progression (Run B-side)
CD2
1. Chocolate (Demo) *previously Unreleased
2. Run (Demo) *previously Unreleased
3. Gleaming Auction (Demo) *previously Unreleased
4. Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking (Demo) *previously Unreleased
5. Grazed Knees (Demo) *previously Unreleased
6. Spitting Games (Demo) *previously Unreleased
7. Wow (Live At Somerset House)
8. Gleaming Auction (Live At Somerset House)
9. Spitting Games (Live At Somerset House)
10. How To Be Dead (Live At Somerset House)
11. Chocolate (Live At Somerset House)
12. Same (Live At Somerset House)
13. Somewhere A Clock Is Ticking (Live At Somerset House)
14. Ways & Means (Live At Somerset House)
15. Run (Live At Somerset House)
16. Post Punk Progression (Live At Somerset House)
17. Tiny Little Fractures (Live At Somerset House)
“Run”. “Chasing Cars”. That’s all. Snow Patrol is a Scottish rock band, whom I wrote about at length way back in 2021 while diving deep and delving into their significance and influence across all genres of music and all time periods. You can read this blog here; but the truth is that even though I resonated with their music back then (predominately “Run” and “Chasing Cars”), I haven’t actively listened to any other songs back then. It goes to show you how much a song is bigger than the artist- and that’s the case with the 2 aforementioned smash hits from the band. As to why I haven’t listened to their discography again and again? It’s probably because at the time I was only a casual fan and only dived in deep into their songs because I wanted to write a blog about them. And that’s ok. Artists can resonate with you more than others, and at different times in your life. That’s certainly the case with Snow Patrol.
The group recently released a brand new album. a 35 song new edition of Final Straw released in August last year. And though I can objectively say that this rock band is engaging in every sense of the word; I’d have to conclude that only a super-fan would adore this release and would buy it straight away no questions asked. And that super-fan…is not me. That’s more than ok too. With live tracks and demos and B-sides; there’s more than enough here for the Snow Patrol enthusiast. But as I much prefer artists similar to these guys like Coldplay, U2, Matchbox Twenty, The Fray, OneRepublic, and Imagine Dragons (and if any of these bands record a deluxe edition album like Final Straw, I would go buy it in a heartbeat!); Snow Patrol unfortunately is a band I admire from afar, but not a band I’d spend money on if you know what I mean. “Run” is awesome. “Chasing Cars” from Eyes Open is pretty good too. But if I haven’t grown up with these guys, and thus the sentimentality and nostalgia factor isn’t there; well then what good is the deluxe edition album to me? As always though, you might feel differently. That’s more than valid, and there’s a reason why these guys still exist. It’s because there’s a market for them. Is that market me though? Not now. Will it be ever? Not sure… only time will tell. Perhaps I’ll dive deep into their next studio album, whenever that may be.
5 songs to listen to: Chocolate, Run, Same, Stronger Than Before, By Heart
Score: 3/5
RIYL: Coldplay, U2, Matchbox Twenty, The Fray, OneRepublic, Imagine Dragons