A Hundred Million Suns
by Snow Patrol
  • Record Label: Geffen
  • Release Date: Oct 28, 2008
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 22 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 22
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 22
  3. Negative: 1 out of 22
  1. The Guardian
    60
    However the finished album sees the band reverting to base instincts with the chug-paced, heart-tweaking, stadium-size choruses of 'Take Back the City' and 'Lifeboats.' Unit-shifting, radio-clogging business taken care of, they allow themselves freer rein with the urgent, almost hardcore-fast and uncomfortably confessional 'Disaster Button.'
  2. Slant Magazine
    60
    A Hundred Million Suns, aims to recapture the success of 'Chasing Cars' and finds the Scottish quintet continuing to hone the sound they introduced on 2003's "Final Straw."
  3. Uncut
    60
    Really, though, the whole--say, the bracing rock of 'Take Back The City'--is more than the sum of these parts, and underlines this album as a success in its field.
  5. Rolling Stone
    60
    Lightbody has an agile tenor, and the band distinguishes itself from the post-Coldplay pack with a flair for arrangements that almost justifies the grandiosity of 16-minute epics.
  6. Q Magazine
    60
    A Hundred Million Suns is just what their hordes demanded, similar enough to uits predecessors to be identifiably Snow Patrol but sufficently different to suggest progression. [Nov 2008, p.106]
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  7. musicOMH.com
    50
    A Hundred Million Suns isn't a bad album - in fact, in parts, it's rather good. It's just that to find those good parts, you have to wade through acres of very average filler.
  8. Sputnikmusic
    50
    There is just about enough top quality pop music on offer to ensure Snow Patrol’s star continues to grow on the world stage but, worryingly, A Hundred Million Suns is another middling affair from a by-now-mature pop act, and now might be the time to ask why.
  9. Pitchfork
    49
    A Hundred Million Suns is rife with the sense of a band striving to be taken more seriously, whether through rocking more manfully, displaying a more sophisticated subtlety, or simply stringing together three ponderous, already-overlong songs and calling the impenetrable result a 16-minute stand-alone epic.
  10. New Musical Express (NME)
    40
    It’s all so methodically planned that even standout radio-wave surfer ‘Take Back The City’ and producer Jacknife Lee struggle to stamp fresh life into this mega-selling formula.
  11. Mojo
    40
    A Hundred Million Suns sounds like a holding pattern for Snow Patrol. [Nov 2008, p.104]
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  12. Under The Radar
    40
    Ultimately, Snow Patrol offers more bark than bite here. [Winter 2008]
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 37
  3. Negative: 4 out of 37
  1. Ricko
    Jun 25, 2015
    7
    It's got several great moments, particularly during the first third of the album. It's also got a lot of dull moments. I think it’s a recordIt's got several great moments, particularly during the first third of the album. It's also got a lot of dull moments. I think it’s a record where the band have definitely stayed within their comfort zone and there are very few risks taken throughout. They've hit the big time and made their money - and like many bands who find themselves in such a situation, you have to wonder is the creative spark or the hunger there anymore. They really need to bring out their "Achtung Baby" record soon or they will be the next in an already long line of bands who coast into middle age in a sea of beige (Stereophonics, KOL). That is if they are not there already. They need a producer who will push them. I'm not saying this is a bad record at all, just that I think Snow Patrol have alot more in them than this. But then maybe they don't.… Full Review »
  2. Zaccds
    Jun 17, 2011
    8
    Snow Patrol really hits their stride and sound here and deliver a more focused and mature sound/lyrics. Showing off their rock/pop/andSnow Patrol really hits their stride and sound here and deliver a more focused and mature sound/lyrics. Showing off their rock/pop/and slow jam ability they have mixed in bits of their old sound and new for great results. With songs about love and heart ache accompany with personal lyrics and catchy music it's hard not to get into this album. Whether your a fan of them before or new your bound to find more than a few tracks or the whole album to your liking.… Full Review »
  3. JackL.
    Oct 29, 2008
    8
    A definite change for snow patrol, but a good one nonetheless.
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