Snow Patrol – ‘Open Your Eyes’ (Polydor) Released 12/02/07

It's approaching twelve months now since Snow Patrol released the first single from their second album, ‘Eyes Open.’ What a twelve months it’s been as well. They’ve conquered America, had a drummer break an arm (which is standard rock and roll practice at the moment) and cleaned up copious amounts of awards for their live show and studio efforts. Maybe that’s why it’s taken them so long to release ‘Open Your Eyes’ then?

The single follows the bands tradition of releasing slower and slower songs as an album goes on. For a long time it’s a song that goes nowhere - there’s just the suggestive buzz of an impending climax pushed along by Gary Lightbody repeating lines that end with, ‘Open Your Eyes.’ Luckily their not just teasing us and the climax that threatens for so long eventually arrives through a mixture of triumphant chanting and expressive guitars. It’s certainly an apt and enjoyable pinnacle to a hectic twelve months.