In case anyone was asleep or just not paying attention, Snow Patrol dropped an extended play just last year titled The Fireside Sessions. Yes, THAT Snow Patrol. During a time where many people were stuck in isolation, including the band in different locations, band member Gary Lightbody had taken to Instagram live sessions in order to come up with new material. Though the album is played by the core members of the band, the extended play is listed as a collaboration album: Snow Patrol and The Saturday Songwriters. According to Lightbody, the majority of the writing actually came from fans who joined in on the live sessions in order to contribute to the album.
The Fireside Sessions has five songs listed on the album, and all of them are a culmination of feelings and emotions that stemmed from fans of the band during their own lockdowns.
The Fireside Sessions has five songs listed on the album, and all of them are a culmination of feelings and emotions that stemmed from fans of the band during their own lockdowns. The themes covering the extended play are all pretty similar, but it is enjoyable to hear the different perspectives from all who took part in the writing process. Perhaps that’s what makes the project that much more special, as though it’s played by Snow Patrol, the inspiration comes from elsewhere, and the idea to even go that direction may have other musicians looking to do similar interactions with their fans in the future. In addition, the project’s proceeds are for charity, so that’s always a plus.
The five songs run together for just less than twenty minutes, but this is likely to be one of those albums that people play repeatedly. All of the songs carry depth, and the best part about it is that listeners will be able to clearly distinguish this sort of writing between that of record label’s traditional formula writing. As follows, the tracks are – Reaching Out to You, On The Edge Of All This, The Curve of Earth, Dance With Me, and Light Years. Reaching Out To You has a lot diversity in its lyricism and much of the message is cryptic in form, but still fun to listen to and interpret freely. On The Edge Of All This is well produced with great guitar playing and choral like backing, giving it a sound of hopefulness giving off an “everything is going to work out” sort of vibe. The Curve Of Earth is metaphoric and exceptionally written, airing on the softer and slower tone. Dance With Me is very uplifting, offering a warm message of sticking things out together even though things may seem hard at the moment. Light Years is the closing track, and production-wise is different from the other songs, but is still rich with solid writing and fine playing on the band’s part.
Needless to say, hats are off to all who participated in the Instagram live sessions that then manifested into this record. Snow Patrol was a good band commercially and critically before deciding to do this, but this only further solidifies their position as ‘one of the best’. Stream it now on Spotify or YouTube.
