Without a doubt the one noticeable difference between ‘AHMS’ and Snow Patrol’s previous releases is that singer Gary Lightbody appears to have found his ‘happy place’. His lonely tales of unrequited love and empty nights spent watching traffic have been replaced by sickly sweet stories about his love for his city, his lady, and, well, everything.Unfortunately, they were far more exciting when they were miserable.
Still, ‘…Suns’ isn’t bad, it’s…nice. ‘Nice’ meaning agreeable but somewhat unremarkable. Another thing you notice about it, however, is its inconsistency. For every dull, samey track there’s a truly tender one, or, failing that, a lively, joyous moment, more reminiscent of ‘Spitting Games’ from breakthrough album ‘Final Straw’.
‘Crack The Shutters’ and ‘Take Back The City’ are ‘AHMS’ most upbeat, content songs; the former finding Lightbody in a private, intimate moment (“Your hills and valleys/ are mapped by my intrepid fingers”). ‘Set Down Your Glass’ and ‘The Planets Bend Between Us’ keep any die-hard ‘Chasing Cars’ fan happy, with their dainty guitars and simple but beautiful lyrics: ‘Your freezing speech bubbles/ seem to hold your words aloft’.
This record isn’t dreadful, just different. It seems the band’s optimism takes some getting used to.
