“Just Say Yes” was composed by Snow Patrol’s Gary Lightbody in ‘07, and he gave it to Pussycat Dolls frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger, who wanted to record it for her solo debut. A huge Snow Patrol fan (who knew?), Scherzinger loves the Northern Irish Lightbody’s accent so much that she recorded her vocals with an accent herself, Lightbody himself acting as the producer. Considering Scherzinger is an Ameri-bimbo, we’d love to hear that! Alas, Nicole’s record was shelved, and Lightbody reclaimed the song for his own band’s hits retrospective, “Up To Now”.

by Mark Emge

Where Snow Patrol sounds best is at the intersection between marketable pop/rock and something more challenging, whether it’s an unexpected arrangement or an interesting melodic turn. Lead singer Gary Lightbody claims the music of Fleet Foxes, Wolf Parade and Sigur Rós as an inspiration on the songs comprising “A Hundred Million Suns”, including “The Planets Between Us”. But the band also explicitly set out to record a “cheerful” album for the first time, leaving the gloom for another day.

by Mark Emge

If Snow Patrol’s fifth album, “A Hundred Million Suns”, features more curve balls than the band’s past catalog, it also includes plenty of the old cyclical hooks. Comprising only a handful of notes, “If There’s A Rocket Tie Me To It” is an insidious example of sly repetition that maximizes their singalong potential, much the same way the mega-single “Chasing Cars” did on their last album. Gary Lightbody is the least famous frontman of a very famous band, a musical Everyman who’s just as average- looking as Chris Martin and only half as desperately self-effacing.

by Mark Emge

Snow Patrol came together in the mid ’90s under the name Shrug, and has sold millions of allbums worldwide. This year they released their fifth studio album, “A Hundred Million Suns”, which was produced by Garret Jacknife Lee. Snow Patrol launched the “Take Back The Cities Tour” to support the album, and it was a 48-hour four-city tour stopping in Dublin, Belfast, Edinburgh and London. The first single was “Take Back The City”, and the Northern Irish alternative rock band is following that single up with the second single off of the album, “Crack The Shutters”.

by Victor Caballero

Frontman Gary Lightbody says that in the new Snow Patrol album, “A Hundred Million Suns”, set to be released on 27 October, his lyrical direction is not about his sadness, but rather his happiness. The band worked with producer Garrett “Jacknife” Lee (Bloc Party, U2) on the album. Even though fans may not even recognize this new project, Snow Patrol is counting on fans to grow with them and recognize their efforts and reflection. Lightbody added that, before they went into the studio, they all had to take lessons to improve their musical skills in order to reach their aspirations for this album. The official release date for the single “Take Back The City” is set for 13 October 2008, but you can visit their myspace page for audio samples at www.myspace.com/snowpatrol or visit their official site that is under construction for a re-launch at www.snowpatrol.com.

by Victor Caballero