Throughout Wildness, Lightbody pushes his message with evocative lyrical imagery and the consoling empathy of someone who has fought the battle and emerged triumphant. The result is one of the most comforting and relatable inclusions in the band's catalog.
[There] are minor blemishes on what otherwise is a strong comeback album for Snow Patrol that proves Lightbody’s still got it. Now, though, his hooks are weathered a bit by life and loss and struggle.
An off-the-mark stab at Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen vocals casting a grim shadow over what was a slow burning lament. Thankfully, Wildness's remaining portfolio is stuffed with hooky but soul-bruised cuts. [Jul 2018, p.96]
If you love Snow Patrol, Wildness will please. But while it has moments that can be thoroughly enjoyed in increments, if you’re expecting developments--especially given the seven-year gap between released--then you’re out of luck.
It's a bit tough to separate this album from expectations for classic Snow Patrol, but as a standalone album it's a solid 9, especiallyIt's a bit tough to separate this album from expectations for classic Snow Patrol, but as a standalone album it's a solid 9, especially knowing the backstory and struggle that Gary went through. And it's not as much of a departure as Arctic Monkeys latest. However, it's more the tempo of The National or The War on Drugs than pop. if you LOVE classic Snow Patrol, you might find this a bit slower and sadder than you're hoping for, even though the tone is hopeful and relieved at conquering demons. I'm hoping this serves as a catharsis and Gary feels the love from us and returns to a bit more uptempo, celebratory and happy songs in the future.…Expand
I was in Berlin in 2019, Snow Patrol performed "Life On Earth", which was and still is my favorite song on this album along with "Soon". GaryI was in Berlin in 2019, Snow Patrol performed "Life On Earth", which was and still is my favorite song on this album along with "Soon". Gary Lightbody announced the performance of that song to the audience, with the words: "You know, this song took us seven years to make, and i know what you're thinking... You think it'll better be f*cking good." and everyone in the audience laughed. That performance of the song again made me realize, how good this song actually is and that they made the best out of the time between 'Fallen Empires' and 2018 to make this album. I can agree, it isn't their best. I think a 'Final Straw' or an 'Eyes Open' is still slightly better. Songs like "Life and Death" really got quite boring to me over the time and the lyrics maybe aren't always at the maximum of perfection of course. Nevertheless, this album sure has some good songs, instrumentally and lyrically, going into a new more "overthinking" type of music, which is really calming and interesting. I also heard that Lightbody had some things going on in this gap between Fallen Empires and Wildness, so i hope for him that he is doing better now, i feel like this album quite expressed what he felt inbetween that timespan due to the issues he had.…Expand
Although I feel the album is a lot more slow and emotional that of previous projects I find it a very refreshing project and enjoyed listeningAlthough I feel the album is a lot more slow and emotional that of previous projects I find it a very refreshing project and enjoyed listening to it the entire way through.
Though I would not say it is my favorite of the albums it is still a rock solid staple.…Expand
A great return to form album from a solid band. "Life on Earth" ranks up there as one of the best Snow Patrol songs of all time. There are aA great return to form album from a solid band. "Life on Earth" ranks up there as one of the best Snow Patrol songs of all time. There are a few skip tracks, but there are also some incredibly beautiful moments.
Stand out Tracks:
Life on Earth, Heal Me, What if This is all the love you ever get, Soon…Expand
En la popularidad musical se da una constante pendular. Después del éxito de una camada de bandas que abordan la música con urgencia, con esaEn la popularidad musical se da una constante pendular. Después del éxito de una camada de bandas que abordan la música con urgencia, con esa fuerza que viene desde la entraña, surge otra que aborda su producción con una actitud más suave, con menos potencia, con más preocupaciones comerciales que estéticas.
Este tipo de bandas están por lo general lejos de estar incluidas en mis selecciones musicales, por eso me pasó de lejos el surgimiento y consolidación de bandas como Coldplay, Keane o Snow Patrol.
Aunque me queda claro que mi gusto está lejos de entender de ventas, ya que estas bandas se han convertido en todo un fenómeno de masas, donde igual son escuchados por aficionados al rock como por quienes disfrutan de lo que aparece en las listas de Billboard.
Hay un motivo que me hizo mirar de vez en cuando a ese espacio donde el péndulo se mantiene en la parte más suave y comercial de la música: los trabajos de Snow Patrol fueron siempre producidos por “Jacknife Lee”.
Este productor ha trabajado con músicos a los que disfruto profundamente con Jake Bugg, Crystal Castles, Editors y R.E.M y siempre suponía que alcanzaría algún buen momento con esta banda escocesa.
Lamentablemente este momento no ha llegado, le he dado varias oportunidades a “Wildeness” y me sigue pareciendo un disco sin alma, muy bien producido, pero lejos de atrapar, lejos de mostrar algo verdaderamente bello.
Mucho tendrían que aprender estas bandas de proyectos como “The Album Leaf” que pueden hacer de la suavidad un espacio tanto para la belleza como para la profundidad. Bastaría un mejor manejo de las guitarras o los sintetizadores para crear un poco de atmosferas con influencias de “dream pop” para lograr mucho mejores resultados.
Entiendo que hay una legión de escuchas que estaban esperando el regreso de la banda encabezada por Gary Lightbody, lo que le supondrá buenas ganancias económicas de ventas y sobre todo de conciertos, pero al escoses, musicalmente, le valdría más seguir grabando con su proyecto alterno “Tired Pony”, el cual se siente mucho más personal.
De lo poco que me gusto del disco es que me parece que su temática tiene más preocupaciones por las preguntas antes que por afirmaciones, que intenta explorar en la memoria para buscar rutas futuras.
Si tuviera que salvar algunas canciones del disco me quedaría con “Life on Earth” y “Soon”, en las cuales se muestra el oficio de Snow Patrol después de tantos años en el medio.
En caso de que exista algún disco más, esta banda por fin debería apostar por jugar menos a lo seguro, deberían en algún momento realmente salir a patrullar por la nieve en búsqueda de nuevos universos.…Expand
