Final Straw

Final Straw is the third album by Snow Patrol, released in the United Kingdom and the Republic of 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.

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 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]

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.^[15] The album's music incorporates distorted guitar, feedback styles, and the vocals are gritty. The lyrics deal with the themes of relationships and politics. 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.^[16] Lightbody has said that him "finally learn[ing] to write a chorus" was the key to the album's success.^[17]

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.^[18]

Release

A limited 20,000 copies of the album were pressed and released, all eventually selling by word of mouth. The album was later re-issued.^[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].

UK re-release bonus tracks

• The AOL sessions feature frontman Gary Lightbody & lead guitarist Nathan Connolly being interviewed, and performing an acoustic rendition of "Run".
• The dualdisc version does not include the UK bonus tracks.

Songs in popular culture

• The song "Wow" is featured the PlayStation 2 game Gran Turismo 4.^[21]
• The song "Somewhere a Clock is Ticking" is featured in "17 Seconds", an episode from season 2 of Grey's Anatomy,^[22] "The Man on the Fairway", an episode from season 1 of Bones^[23] and the feature trailer for I Am Number Four.
• "How to Be Dead" was featured on the soundtracks to American Pie Presents: Band Camp and Wicker Park.^[24][25]
• "Chocolate" was featured in The Last Kiss starring Zach Braff.^[26]
• The song "Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking" was used as the background music for the video highlights package of the WrestleMania XXV match between Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker, as shown on ECW on 1 September 2009.
• "Spitting Games" was featured in the EA Sports game MVP Baseball 2004. It was also featured in a Liverpool FC football game in 2005 and on the BBC Wales TV series Torchwood in 2006.
• "Run" was featured in the soundtrack of the film Charlie St. Cloud, starring Zac Efron. The song was also featured in the season one premiere of Jericho, and in the season one finale of One Tree Hill.
• "Run" was mentioned in the second book of the Internet Girls series, written by Lauren Myracle. In the book TTFN, the character Angela Silver states that it is her new favorite song in the first few pages.

Personnel

• Gary Lightbody – guitar, glockenspiel, vocals, backing vocals, keyboards
• Mark McClelland – bass, keyboards
• Jonny Quinn – drums
• Nathan Connolly – guitar, background vocals

Other personnel

Peak positions and certifications

References