By Amy Sondova Everything’s better when it’s free—that’s my mantra. However, downloading Snow Patrol’s brand spankin’ new album A Hundred Million Suns from Amazon.com for a mere $3.99 was an offer even I couldn’t refuse (click here to buy download or here for CD). As the strains of the first song, “If There’s a Rocket Tie Me To It” reverberated through my computer’s speakers, I knew I acquired a deal.
A Hundred Million Suns has received mixed reviews; some called the album “mediocre” and “dull” compared to their 2006 release Eyes Open, which contains the mega-hit “Chasing Cars.” However, all those reviewers are wrong. Besides having smashing album cover art and an appealing title, A Hundred Million Suns is good. It seems that people are disappointed because Snow Patrol’s musical prowess goes beyond “Chasing Cars.”
The album is diverse in its songs from the melancholy to the more melancholy (this is Snow Patrol, after all). Yet songs like “Engines,” “Take Back the City,” and “Disaster Button” are surprisingly rocky. The titles to the songs are as telling as the songs themselves, which require several listens to divulge deep meaning. “If There’s a Rocket Tie Me To It,” which is also destined to be Snow Patrol’s next big radio hit, is a sad memory of a lost love. The album’s final track, which is 16 minutes in length is just sad and long. I wonder if “The Lightning Strike” is a compression of all the songs that didn’t make the cut. What better way to feature all the B-sides than to just smash them into a lengthy musical piece?
The strung out vocals, finger picking on the guitar, and lyrics that are aesthetically consuming are all present on A Hundred Million Suns. To be sure, it’s a sleepy album yet strangely relaxing and consistently Snow Patrol. And it’s a deal, even if you pay full price.
Explicit Album Note: A Hundred Million Suns acquired an explicit album warning because the f-bomb is dropped in “Disaster Button.”
You can purchase Snow Patrol’s A Hundred Million Suns in Backseat Writer’s online store, Drive-By Shopping, in MP3 or CD format. Click here to get started.
She is Beloved 
Yeah, I love this album! It’s soothinh.
MY favorite song is If there a rocket tie me to it.
it’s great!