REVIEW: Snow Patrol, an educational film by... (Jeepster - Import)
- Tim Mohr
Though Wales gets all the press these days, Scotland is spitting out quality bands even more quickly. Perhaps the long-time success of bands like the Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream, and Teenage Fanclub make the new Scottish bands less exotic than their Welsh counterparts. Snow Patrol is typical of a new breed of Caledonian talent that has managed to establish new parameters of experimentalism. Somewhere between the sprawling soundscapes of Mogwai, the laid-back pop structures of the Pearlfishers and Trash Can Sinatras, and the noise-bombs dropped by the early Jesus & Mary Chain, Snow Patrol formulate short songs with sinister-but-not-overpowering guitars and relaxed-but-incisive vocals.
Opening the e.p. with "one hundred things you should have done in bed," Snow Patrol display a laconic, self-deprecating sensibility that manages to undermine the lad-couteur of contemporary Britain. The jacket actually mentions FHM and Maxim magazines, two of the most successful neo-caveman publications. From the controlled vocals (akin to Teenage Fanclub), it is difficult to tell whether Snow Patrol are disappointed that they haven't done any of the 100 things. In fact, beyond the line "I don't give a toss" from "Sticky Teenage Twin" on the previous e.p., it is difficult to imagine Snow Patrol allowing themselves to get passionate about anything--they seem far too numb, too emotionally drained.
The last of the four songs is the longest song Snow Patrol have recorded to date, slowing to a dirge and repeating the morose line, "I could stay away forever if I tried." The quiet playground noises that preface the song make a striking juxtaposition, the implied innocence prior to the world-weary depression of the song itself.
Snow Patrol record for Jeepster, the label known for releasing Belle & Sebastian, perhaps the best known of the new Scottish groups. The bands share an atmosphere of tiredness, as well as an ability to turn a wickedly analytical eye on any situation. Snow Patrol play guitars with an assortment of pedals and effects, however, and avoid the airy arrangements used by Belle & Sebastian.
