It’s been seven years since Snow Patrol released a new album, and on May 25, the Gary Lightbody led Northern Irish rock band will release ‘Wildness,’ and since one song is better than the next, I predict it will resonate with their loyal fan base. Lightbody took the stage of The Fonda alongside Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, backing vocals), Jonny Quinn (drums), and Johnny McDaid (piano, guitar, backing vocals) to play to a packed house. You might know Johnny McDaid as one of the powerful co-writing forces behind Ed Sheeran, P!nk, Robbie Williams, and more. McDaid is also the man who hilariously gave Lightbody an assist on stage that night, when Lightbody struggled to remember some lyrics, making for an enjoyable human connection with his fans.
I was personally introduced to Snow Patrol via ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ when the second single from their fourth studio album, “Chasing Cars,” became a massive success. The band would either be incredibly happy or incredibly annoyed to hear that, but I predict the latter. “Chasing Cars” spent 85 weeks on the UK charts, and though Lightbody feared that “the song could become bigger than the band” it’s clear from the devoted crowd that that is far from the truth.
For a band that “spent ten years making records that 6,000 people bought,” according to Lightbody, it’s no secret why they take nothing for granted, and even when Lightbody boasted their new album being “f***ing great,” it was more a funny acknowledgment of a factual truth then a rock star’s masturbatory boast.
Listen to two songs off the new record below.