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From the atmospheric opening of first track ‘If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It’, A Hundred Million Suns promises to be a more upbeat album than 2006’s melancholy Eyes Open. The next track, the piano lead ‘Crack the Shutters’ is a touching love song of a man wondering in the simple beauty of his girlfriend and reveals a much more optimistic Snow Patrol than we have previously seen. The band recently revealed that this track will be the next single to be taken from the album, which should be an eagerly anticipated release!

 

Following ‘Crack the Shutters’, is anthemic current single ‘Take Back the City’, written as an ode to Lightbody’s home town of Belfast; a celebration of a city with which he has had an often turbulent relationship but now recognises as not only a fantastic, vibrant place but as his home.

 

For the next two tracks, the tempo of the album slows, becoming so chilled that the tracks seem to blend together into indefinable background music. The band begin to bring it back on track though with ‘Please Just Take These Photos From My Hands’, a more lively song but predictable and typically Snow Patrol. The next track shows the boys’ softer side again with another love song, ‘Set Down Your Glass’. Although slow and reminiscent of the more melancholy Snow Patrol, it is still a very good song and a sweet ballad. Unfortunately the album then stalls again with ‘The Planets Bend Between Us’, a plodding, indie ballad that does not match up to the other love songs on the album.

 

This is however only a temporary blip, as ‘Engines’ is a much more dynamic and listenable track, followed by ‘Disaster Button’ which delivers the more spirited and energetic music promised by the album’s opening tracks. ‘The Lightening Strike’, the final track on the album is perhaps one of the most interesting songs Snow Patrol have ever produced. Divided into three distinct sections (‘What if the Storm Ends’, ‘The Sunlight Through the Flags’ and ‘Day Break’) it is over sixteen minutes long. The first section is another beautifully written, piano lead love song. Contrasting with this, the second section has an almost oriental sound which breaks into distorted guitars in the chorus. The final section is an uplifting song which ends the album on a high note!

 

Overall, despite the dip in pace in the middle this is a very strong release. Fourteen years into their career, this is the sound of a band who finally feel comfortable in their own skin. This album is much more positive and heartening than previous efforts, with the pervading theme of successful and happy love making a welcome change to previous, more despondent accounts. Well worth a purchase!