Final Straw

Final Straw
Studio album by Snow Patrol
Released 4 August 2003
Recorded February 2003
Studio Britannia Row Studios
Genre Alternative rock, indie rock, power pop, post-Britpop
Length 44:00
Label Fiction (UK)
A&M (US)
Producer Jacknife Lee
Snow Patrol chronology
When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up
(2001)		 Final Straw
(2003)		 Eyes Open
(2006)
Singles from Final Straw
  1. "Spitting Games"
    Released: 15 September 2003
  2. "Run"
    Released: 26 February 2004
  3. "Chocolate"
    Released: 12 April 2004
  4. "Spitting Games (re-release)"
    Released: 12 July 2004
  5. "How to Be Dead"
    Released: 25 October 2004
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Blender[3]
Entertainment.ie[4]
Entertainment Weekly(favourable)[5]
Pitchfork Media(6.7/10)[6]
PopMatters(unfavorable)[7]
Q[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
Sunday Tribune(favorable)[10]
Uncut[11]

Final Straw is the third studio album by British alternative rock band Snow Patrol, released in the United Kingdom and Ireland in 2003 and in the United States in 2004. The album is notable for bringing the band their first mainstream success outside of their native countries of Northern Ireland and Scotland. It is the first album to feature lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and the last to feature bassist Mark McClelland.

The album was re-released in the UK in 2004 with two extra tracks,[12] before being exported to the U.S. (without the bonus tracks). The album was also released on SACD and DualDisc with 5.1 Surround mixes.[13]

Background

The band's A&R representative Jim Chancellor explained the reasons for choosing rock producer Jacknife Lee to oversee the record by saying, "I wanted a record for them that was bigger and bolder and a lot different than their previous records. I wanted them to make a more of a rock album than an indie record."[14] Chancellor, Lee and the band chose fifteen songs to start working on out of an original pool of 24.[14] Critical to the new direction was Lightbody's development into a more rounded songwriter. "They played us some songs which were not indie. There were a couple of pop songs and then 'Run', which is an enormous emotional rollercoaster of a track," said Chancellor.

Recording and composition

During the first couple of weeks in the studio the band found it quite difficult to adapt from an 'indie'-orientated sound to a more commercially viable pop rock sound.[14] Producer Lee offered constructive suggestions about how to both simplify their songs and augment them with other sounds such as strings, and Snow Patrol proved very receptive his advice.[14] According to Chancellor, "Some bands tend to be more defensive about what goes on in the studio. Snow Patrol weren't. They were very much like, 'Yeah, we really want to be successful this time.'"[14]

The lyrics, all written by Lightbody are about failing relationships and break-ups. They were inspired by his personal experiences. Quinn, his longtime friend, says that he knows who Lightbody sings about in those songs.[15] The lyrics deal with the themes of relationships and politics. Lightbody has said that his "finally learn[ing] to write a chorus" was the key to the album's success.[16]

Guitarist Nathan Connolly joined the band during the recording sessions. He did not contribute much, as the whole album had already been demoed. He commented that he found it easy to start writing and sharing his ideas with the rest of the band, as he had a good relationship with the band before being a member.[17] The album's music incorporates distorted guitar, feedback styles, and the vocals are gritty. The band's sound on the album was described as being a "cross between the sullen folk of Nick Drake and the more punchy rock moments of Simple Minds and the Pixies.[18] Reviewing the album, Pitchfork described the performances as being based around "rigid, unwavering tempos that approximate dance music," created through looped sections of playing augmented with electronics. The first song, "How to Be Dead", introduces this sound with extensive use of drum machine programming.

Release

Before repromotion of the album, sales hit 20,000 copies.[19]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Gary Lightbody; all music composed by Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland, Nathan Connolly and Jonny Quinn except where noted[20].

No. Title Length
1. "How to Be Dead"   3:21
2. "Wow"   4:02
3. "Gleaming Auction"   2:04
4. "Whatever's Left"   2:39
5. "Spitting Games"   3:46
6. "Chocolate"   3:02
7. "Run" (Iain Archer, Lightbody, McClelland, Connolly, Quinn) 5:54
8. "Grazed Knees"   2:55
9. "Ways & Means" (Archer, Lightbody, McClelland, Connolly, Quinn) 4:47
10. "Tiny Little Fractures"   2:28
11. "Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking" (Archer, Lightbody, McClelland, Connolly, Quinn) 4:32
12. "Same"   3:54
UK re-release bonus tracks
No. Title Length
13. "We Can Run Away Now They're All Dead and Gone"   3:15
14. "Half the Fun"   2:54
iTunes bonus tracks
No. Title Length
13. "Post Punk Progression"   3:23
14. "Steal"   2:45
DualDisc version bonus material
No. Title Length
13. "Chocolate" (video) 3:43
14. "Run" (video) 4:20
15. "Spitting Games" (video) 3:52
16. "Sessions@AOL: Interview"   6:14
17. "Sessions@AOL: Run"   4:33

Personnel

Other personnel
  • Dan Swift – engineer
  • Jacknife Lee – producer, mixing
  • Phil Tyreman – assistant engineer
  • Ian Dowling – assistant engineer
  • Mike Nelson – mixing
  • Jeff McLaughlin – assistant
  • Chris Lord-Alge – mixing

Charts and certifications

Chart/provider(s) Peak
position		 Sales Certification
Australian Albums (ARIA) — 70,000 Platinum[22]
Dutch Albums Chart (NVPI)[23] 49 —
Dutch Backcatalogue Top 50 (NVPI)[24] 4
Europe (IFPI) — 2,000,000 2× Platinum[25]
Ireland Albums Chart (IRMA)[23] 1 90,000 6× Platinum[26]
UK Albums Chart (BPI)[23] 3 1,500,000 5× Platinum[27]
US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)[28] 1 618,000[29] Gold[30]
US Billboard 200[23] 91
Organization Level Date[30]
RIAA - USA Gold 17 October 2008

References

  1. ↑ "Final Straw by Snow Patrol". Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  2. ↑ Tim DiGravina (2004-03-30). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  3. ↑ Blender review Archived December 10, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ "review". Entertainment.ie. 2003-08-21. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  5. ↑ Marc Vera (2004-04-02). "Entertainment Weekly review". Ew.com. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  6. ↑ "Pitchfork Media review". PitchforkMedia.com. 2009-01-13. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  7. ↑ Powers, Devon. "PopMatters review". Popmatters.com. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  8. ↑ "Q review". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  9. ↑ "Rolling Stone review". RollingStone.com. 2009-11-14. Archived from the original on 2009-11-14. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  10. ↑ Sunday Tribune review
  11. ↑ "Uncut review". Uncut.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2011-07-24. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  12. ↑ "Album : Final Straw". Snow Patrol. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  13. ↑ "Single : Signal Fire". Snow Patrol. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 "Interview With Jim Chancellor". HitQuarters. Oct 26, 2005. Retrieved 2010-06-29.
  15. ↑ "That's Snow business". The Age. 25 July 2004. Archived from the original on 2009-10-29. Retrieved 2009-10-29.
  16. ↑ Heawood, Sophie (30 October 2009). "Snow Patrol: 'We're not ready for greatest hits'". The Times. Archived from the original on 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2009-10-31.
  17. ↑ Jurilj, Igor (4 August 2009). "Interview - Nathan Connolly (Snow Patrol)" (in Croatian). Muzika. Archived from the original on 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2009-10-01. - Note: Translation can be found here.
  18. ↑ Weingarten, Abby (3 September 2004). "Scotland's Snow Patrol jumps on gloom bandwagon". AccessMyLibrary. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2009-10-19. Appears as: "Using distorted guitar, feedback and gritty vocals, the band inserts lyrics with political and relationship themes." and "comprised of Gary Lightbody (songwriting, vocals, guitar and keyboards), Nathan Connolly (guitar), Mark McClelland (bass and keyboards) and Johnny Quinn (drums), Snow Patrol has a sound that's a cross between the sullen folk of Nick Drake and the more punchy rock moments of Simple Minds and the Pixies."
  19. ↑ Jelbert, Steve (13 February 2004). "The flaky success of Snow Patrol". The Times. Times Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 2009-10-01. Retrieved 2010-01-04.
  20. ↑ "Final Straw". Snow Patrol. Retrieved 2009-08-30.
  21. ↑ "Music: Music from & Inspired By Gran Turismo 4 (CD) by Original Soundtrack". Tower.com. 2005-04-04. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  22. ↑ "ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2007 Albums". ARIA. Archived from the original on 2011-05-13. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  23. 1 2 3 4 "Snow Patrol - Final Straw". aCharts. Retrieved 2009-06-27.
  24. ↑ Steffen Hung. "Dutch charts portal". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  25. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards - 2008". Ifpi.org. 2005-09-01. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  26. ↑ Jaclyn Ward (1962-10-01). "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". Irishcharts.ie. Archived from the original on 2009-06-04. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
  27. ↑ "UK Official Singles Chart 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-07-01.
  28. ↑ Chart position on Top Heatseekers
  29. ↑ "Brits Rock". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-08-04.
  30. 1 2 "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
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