Final Straw
Studio album by
Snow Patrol
Released4 August 2003
RecordedFebruary 2003
StudioBritannia Row
Genre
Length44:00
Label
ProducerJacknife 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

Final Straw is the third studio album and major-label debut by Scottish-Northern Ireland rock band Snow Patrol, released on 4 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in 2004 in the United States. The album is notable for bringing the band their first mainstream success outside of their native countries of Northern Ireland and Scotland. In the 14 months following its release, a total of 5 singles were drawn from it. 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,[1] before being exported to the US (without the bonus tracks). The album was also released on SACD and DualDisc with 5.1 Surround mixes.[2]

A 20th Anniversary Edition was released on 4 August 2023, twenty years after the original album release.

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."[3] Chancellor, Lee and the band chose fifteen songs to start working on out of an original pool of 24.[3] 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'-oriented sound to a more commercially viable pop rock sound.[3] 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 to his advice.[3] 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.'"[3]

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.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7] 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 and reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic73/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Blender[10]
Chicago Sun-Times[11]
Entertainment WeeklyA[12]
The Guardian[13]
Pitchfork6.7/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Slant Magazine[17]
Uncut[18]

Final Straw received generally positive reviews from critics. According to Metacritic, the album received a weighted mean review score of 73 out of 100 based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Before repromotion of the album, sales reached 20,000 copies.[19]

Track listing

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

No.TitleLength
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
Japan / UK re-release bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."We Can Run Away Now They're All Dead and Gone"3:15
14."Half the Fun"2:54
iTunes bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
13."Post Punk Progression"3:23
14."Steal"2:45
DualDisc version bonus material
No.TitleLength
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
  • 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.

Personnel

Other personnel

Charts

Chart performance for Final Straw
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 98
Ireland Albums (IRMA)[21] 9
Scottish Albums (OCC)[22] 43
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 3
US Billboard 200[21] 91
US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)[23] 1

Certifications

Certifications for Final Straw
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[24] Platinum 70,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[25] 6× Platinum 90,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[26] 6× Platinum 1,800,000‡
United States (RIAA)[27] Gold 618,000[28]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[29] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "Album : Final Straw". Snow Patrol. Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  2. ↑ "Single : Signal Fire". Snow Patrol. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Interview With Jim Chancellor". HitQuarters. 26 October 2005. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "That's Snow business". The Age. 25 July 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
  5. ↑ Heawood, Sophie (30 October 2009). "Snow Patrol: 'We're not ready for greatest hits'". The Times. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
  6. ↑ Jurilj, Igor (4 August 2009). "Interview - Nathan Connolly (Snow Patrol)" (in Croatian). Muzika. Archived from the original on 9 August 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2009. - Note: Translation can be found here.
  7. ↑ Weingarten, Abby (3 September 2004). "Scotland's Snow Patrol jumps on gloom bandwagon". AccessMyLibrary. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2009. 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."
  8. ↑ "Reviews for Final Straw by Snow Patrol". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 October 2016.
  9. ↑ DiGravina, Tim. "Final Straw – Snow Patrol". AllMusic. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  10. ↑ Duerden, Nick (April 2004). "Snow Patrol: Final Straw". Blender (25): 136. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  11. ↑ Vrabel, Jeff (2 May 2004). "Snow Patrol, 'Final Straw' (A&M)". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  12. ↑ Vera, Marc (2 April 2004). "Snow Patrol: Final Straw". Entertainment Weekly. p. 66.
  13. ↑ Sullivan, Caroline (1 August 2003). "Snow Patrol: Final Straw". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  14. ↑ Deusner, Stephen M. (1 April 2004). "Snow Patrol: Final Straw". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  15. ↑ "Snow Patrol: Final Straw". Q (207): 113. October 2003.
  16. ↑ Wolk, Douglas (10 March 2004). "Snow Patrol: Final Straw". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 14 November 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  17. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (2 April 2004). "Snow Patrol: Final Straw". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  18. ↑ "Snow Patrol – Final Straw". Uncut (77): 130. October 2003. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
  19. ↑ Jelbert, Steve (13 February 2004). "The flaky success of Snow Patrol". The Times. Times Newspapers Ltd. Archived from the original on 1 October 2009. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  20. ↑ "Final Straw". Snow Patrol. Archived from the original on 21 August 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
  21. 1 2 3 4 "Snow Patrol - Final Straw". aCharts. Retrieved 27 June 2009.
  22. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 2021-11-22.
  23. ↑ Chart position on Top Heatseekers
  24. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Albums" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  25. ↑ "The Irish Charts - 2005 Certification Awards - Multi Platinum". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  26. ↑ "British album certifications – Snow Patrol – Final Straw". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  27. ↑ "American album certifications – Snow Patrol – Final Straw". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
  28. ↑ "Brits Rock". Billboard.
  29. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2008". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 October 2019.
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