After the out and out synth-pop loveliness that was Snow Patrol's sublime Called Out In The Dark, you might have been inclined to think all of their new album Fallen Empires would be of the same vein.
You'd be wrong, new single This Isn't Everything You Are sees the band back to usual business, penning massive, string laced, soaring rock ballads. As far as things go, this one's pretty decent. It's no Chasing Cars though, but then, what is?
The good thing about Snow Patrol is that compared to their contemporaries, they're still banging out high quality tracks like this - their staying power is somewhat remarkable, and it's the steadfast power, weight and meaty guitar crunch of tracks like this that prove they have every right to still be around.
This Isn't Everything You Are is released on the 13th November.
Of late, Snow Patrol have been rather hard to pigeon-hole. It used to be so easy; those big sweeping rock ballads Run and Chasing Cars, those perenial favourites of any self-respecting radio station in the land - that was what Snow Patrol were about.
They'd soundtrack every 'emotional' moment of reality TV, they were the 'rock' band that it was ok for slick city profesionals and middle class Mums to love.
But new single Called Out In The Dark couldn't be further from that - and it all began with 2009's Just Say Yes. Like so many before them, Snow Patrol took that tried and tested route of 'going electronic', shoving a few synths on their latest single and seeing what happened.
What came out the other end was an exceptionally good track, a chilly, glacial bit of synth-pop that saw the band rejuvenated, interesting again, yet still possessing that 'Snow Patrol sound' - namely Gary Lightbody's resonant tones.
Called Out In The Dark is something of a mixed creation - the verses are on very shaky foundations, feeling way too slow, laboured in their plodding bassline. Every part of them seems designed only to get you to the chorus. But oh what a chorus it is...
The chorus is everything to Called Out In The Dark, literally everything. Without it, this song would be nothing, But with it, the track transforms into something magical, enchanting, truly beautiful. Like something from Depeche Mode/Erasure's radiant 80s heyday, Called Out In The Dark suddenly bursts into a full on pop moment, the kind of arms aloft on a glittered dancefloor instant that marks the sign of a truly brilliant chorus.
Even better, the accompanying video throws in some Tron style dancers, bathed in neon light, twisting and twirling around a glossy actor substitute for Lightbody himself. It's a simple narrative, a basic idea, but it's done with just the right amount of comic intention to keep you interested - oh, and it does wonders to perk up those badly lagging verses.
Following on from Just Say Yes, this new, synth-led Snow Patrol makes for a considerable fighting force. Not every band makes the transition from staid commercial rock favourites to pop perfectionism, but Snow Patrol are sure making a good go of it. More like this on the new album please!
Called Out In The Dark is released on the 5th September.
