Final Straw

* indie rock
* power pop

1. "Spitting Games"Released: 15 September 2003
2. "Run"Released: 26 February 2004
3. "Chocolate"Released: 12 April 2004
4. "Spitting Games (re-release)"Released: 12 July 2004
5. "How to Be Dead"Released: 25 October 2004

***Final Straw*** is the third studio album and major-label debut by Scottish-Northern Irish rock band Snow Patrol, released on 4 August 2003 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and in 2004 in the United States. The album is notable for bringing the band their first mainstream success outside of their native countries of Northern Ireland and Scotland. In the 14 months following its release, a total of 5 singles were drawn from it. It is the first album to feature lead guitarist Nathan Connolly and the last to feature bassist Mark McClelland.

The album was re-released in the UK in 2004 with two extra tracks, before being exported to the US (without the bonus tracks). The album was also released on SACD and DualDisc with 5.1 Surround mixes.

## Background

The band's A&R representative Jim Chancellor explained the reasons for choosing rock producer Jacknife Lee to oversee the record by saying, "I wanted a record for them that was bigger and bolder and a lot different than their previous records. I wanted them to make a more of a rock album than an indie record." Chancellor, Lee and the band chose fifteen songs to start working on out of an original pool of 24. Critical to the new direction was Lightbody's development into a more rounded songwriter. "They played us some songs which were not indie. There were a couple of pop songs and then 'Run', which is an enormous emotional rollercoaster of a track," said Chancellor.

## Recording and composition

During the first couple of weeks in the studio the band found it quite difficult to adapt from an 'indie'-oriented sound to a more commercially viable pop rock sound. Producer Lee offered constructive suggestions about how to both simplify their songs and augment them with other sounds such as strings, and Snow Patrol proved very receptive to his advice. According to Chancellor, "Some bands tend to be more defensive about what goes on in the studio. Snow Patrol weren't. They were very much like, 'Yeah, we really want to be successful this time.'"

The lyrics, all written by Lightbody are about failing relationships and break-ups. They were inspired by his personal experiences. Quinn, his longtime friend, says that he knows who Lightbody sings about in those songs. The lyrics deal with the themes of relationships and politics. Lightbody has said that his "finally learn[ing] to write a chorus" was the key to the album's success.

Guitarist Nathan Connolly joined the band during the recording sessions. He did not contribute much, as the whole album had already been demoed. He commented that he found it easy to start writing and sharing his ideas with the rest of the band, as he had a good relationship with the band before being a member. The album's music incorporates distorted guitar, feedback styles, and the vocals are gritty. The band's sound on the album was described as being a "cross between the sullen folk of Nick Drake and the more punchy rock moments of Simple Minds and the Pixies. Reviewing the album, *Pitchfork* described the performances as being based around "rigid, unwavering tempos that approximate dance music," created through looped sections of playing augmented with electronics. The first song, "How to Be Dead", introduces this sound with extensive use of drum machine programming.

## Release and reception

*Final Straw* received generally positive reviews from critics. According to Metacritic, the album received a weighted mean review score of 73 out of 100 based on 21 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Before repromotion of the album, sales reached 20,000 copies.

## Track listing

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* The AOL sessions feature frontman Gary Lightbody & lead guitarist Nathan Connolly being interviewed, and performing an acoustic rendition of "Run".
* The dualdisc version does not include the UK bonus tracks.

## Personnel

* Gary Lightbody – vocals, guitar, glockenspiel, backing vocals, keyboards
* Mark McClelland – bass guitar, keyboards
* Jonny Quinn – drums
* Nathan Connolly – guitar, backing vocals

**Other personnel**

* Louie Teran – mastering
* Iain Archer – background vocals (on track 12)
* Bruce White – viola
* James Banbury – piano, strings, cello
* Fiona McCapra – violin
* Ben Georgiades – engineer
* Jacknife Lee – producer, mixing
* Phil Tyreman – assistant engineer
* Ian Dowling – assistant engineer
* Mike Nelson – mixing
* Jeff McLaughlin – assistant
* Chris Lord-Alge – mixing

## Charts

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Chart performance for *Final Straw*
 US Top Heatseekers (*Billboard*) | 1

## Certifications

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## References

1. ↑ Album : Final Straw. Snow Patrol.
2. ↑ Single : Signal Fire. Snow Patrol.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Interview With Jim Chancellor. HitQuarters (Oct 26, 2005).
4. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"That's Snow business". *The Age*. 25 July 2004. Archived from the original on 4 November 2012. Retrieved 29 October 2009.
5. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Heawood, Sophie (30 October 2009). "Snow Patrol: 'We're not ready for greatest hits'". *The Times*. Archived from the original on 22 April 2010. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
6. ↑ Jurilj, Igor (4 August 2009). Interview - Nathan Connolly (Snow Patrol) (hr). Muzika. - Note: Translation can be found here.Template:Dead link
7. ↑ Weingarten, Abby (3 September 2004). Scotland's Snow Patrol jumps on gloom bandwagon. *AccessMyLibrary*. Sarasota Herald-Tribune. **Appears as**: "Using distorted guitar, feedback and gritty vocals, the band inserts lyrics with political and relationship themes." and "comprised of Gary Lightbody (songwriting, vocals, guitar and keyboards), Nathan Connolly (guitar), Mark McClelland (bass and keyboards) and Johnny Quinn (drums), Snow Patrol has a sound that's a cross between the sullen folk of Nick Drake and the more punchy rock moments of Simple Minds and the Pixies."
8. ↑ Reviews for Final Straw by Snow Patrol.
9. ↑ DiGravina, Tim. Final Straw – Snow Patrol.
10. ↑ Template:Cite journal
11. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Vrabel, Jeff (2 May 2004). "Snow Patrol, 'Final Straw' (A&M)". *Chicago Sun-Times*. Archived from the original on 13 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
12. ↑ Template:Cite journal
13. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Sullivan, Caroline (1 August 2003). "Snow Patrol: Final Straw". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
14. ↑ Deusner, Stephen M. (1 April 2004). Snow Patrol: Final Straw. *Pitchfork*.
15. ↑ Template:Cite journal
16. ↑ Template:Cite magazine
17. ↑ Cinquemani, Sal (2 April 2004). Snow Patrol: Final Straw. *Slant Magazine*.
18. ↑ Template:Cite journal
19. ↑ Jelbert, Steve (13 February 2004). The flaky success of Snow Patrol. *The Times*. Times Newspapers Ltd..
20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 Snow Patrol - Final Straw. aCharts.
21. ↑ [[[:Template:BillboardURLbyName]] Chart position on Top Heatseekers]Template:Dead link

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