Music review: Eyes Open by Snow Patrol

Eyes Open by Snow Patrol sat on my shelf for a while because I had bought it at the same time that I bought Snow Patrol’s previous release, Final Straw. While there was nothing bad about Final Straw, nothing made me want to immediately listen to Eyes Open. Some of the radio friendly hits on Eyes Open aren’t bad, such as “Chasing Cars,” “Shut Your Eyes” and “Hands Open,” but two other songs are the standouts.

“Set the Fire to the Third Bar” is a duet featuring the addition of Martha Wainwright on vocals. It seems like such a simple and basic idea to have male and female vocal harmony in a pop song, so why isn’t that done more often these days? Did it go out of style with Fleetwood Mac or have I just not noticed it? Whatever the case, the vocal harmony in “Set the Fire to the Third Bar” works perfectly.

“Open Your Eyes” is the other standout track. The first half of the song builds the tension through the verse and chorus leading to the song breaking out the full band for about a minute and a half of only instrumental music before a short refrain at the end, making for an effective composition.

Overall there are some nice pop songs on Eyes Open, and I probably like Eyes Open a little better than Final Straw, though with the exception of “Set the Fire to the Third Bar” and “Open Your Eyes” none of the songs are really that special.

Rating: 6 out of 10.

December 17, 2009 9:59 pm. Music.