Tired Pony - The Place We Ran From

More of this sort of thing, please, Gary Lightbody. We know it must be hard seeing your other band called ‘dull’, ‘safe’, ‘boring’ and just about any other number of synonyms by quite a lot of people, but this new venture of yours is definitely more like it.

Snow Patrol’s last record ‘A Hundred Million Suns’ received decidely mixed reviews. It was a mixed bag, the main draw being the slower, more anthemic songs. The uptempo ones felt like the band were on auto-pilot, though the album had one hell of a closer in the form of the three-part, sixteen-minute suite of ‘The Lightning Strike’. It was the most adventurous thing they’d written since ‘Final Straw’. Their 2003 breakthrough record, a perfect combination of their quirkiness and songwriting chops, remains their high-water mark.

‘The Place We Ran From’ has gone and matched it, however, pointing to a clear case of Lightbody saving his best ideas for his other projects. It continues the trend set by the Reindeer Section records, and hopefully the experience of writing it will give Snow Patrol the spark they need. They need to stop making ‘solid’ albums and rediscover what made them great in the first place - and this might just be the catalyst for rejuvenation.

It’s an album filled with brittle songs that tug at the heartstrings. While the idea of a country-rock group fronted by Lightbody may have inspired horrified looks from a few people, the only thing it shares with that particular genre of music is that there is emotion to be heard everywhere. With an all-star cast to help him (starring such people as Editors’ Tom Smith, whose gravelly tones grace ‘The Good Book’, Zooey Deschanel, who duets with Lightbody on ‘Get On The Road’, a slow-burner that’s the equal of any he’s written, and ex-Snow Patroller Iain Archer (he’s carved out quite a nice solo career for himself in the meantime) who lends his voice to ‘I Am A Landslide’. We have no idea why he apologises (‘Sorry, guys!’) at the end of the track, as he puts in a great performance.

Elsewhere, there are a number of anthems that surpass the majority of the Patrol’s output over the last four years. Handclap-laden opener ‘Northwestern Skies’ sets up the record very well indeed (it was nice to hear some reverb on Lightbody’s voice for the first time in forever!), starting quietly and swelling to a soaring finale. Single ‘Dead American Writers’ packs a punch, just the right kind of song to follow ‘Point Me At Lost Islands’, which sounds a little like something off Idlewild’s ‘Warnings/Promises’.

The position of ‘token torch song’ falls to ‘Held In The Arms Of Your Words’. One of those irresistible melodies that Lightbody’s become so good at writing, anchors the seven-minute ballad as it slowly unfolds into something that’s every bit as joyous and powerful as, say, ‘Run’, or even ‘Chasing Cars’ - yes, as opinion-splitting as the latter may seem, there’s no denying its strength.

‘The Deepest Ocean There Is’ is the album highlight. The underlying themes of self-doubt and fear come to light in a devastatingly clear manner as Lightbody’s forced to admit, ‘I’ve been terrified for far too fucking long / What is that thing I lack that makes you so damn strong?’ While not as personal as his other material (the majority of which was written about his own experiences), there are times here when you wonder, is he speaking for himself, or someone else?

The album ends with another seven-minute epic, ‘Pieces’. A swirling synth part underpins the track as it slowly builds over three minutes before taking an abrupt U-turn and exploding into a feedback-drenched, psychedelic wig-out, the likes of which we haven’t heard from anything to do with Lightbody since the ‘Songs for Polarbears’ days. It closes the album in most unexpected (not to mention, welcome) fashion.

Despite Jacknife Lee’s presence, the album hasn’t been produced to within an inch of its life, which will come as a relief, as the man’s work with Snow Patrol has, at certain times, rendered the music soulless, regardless of everything else. Everything’s given room to breathe, and no one instrument drowns out the others (except, of course, when it is meant to). There’s a great warmth present on this album as a result, which makes it all the better.

We don’t know yet whether or not this will be the only Tired Pony material written. Lightbody has other commitents: the Listen… Tanks! record (collaboration with Lee) is due out before year’s end, and Snow Patrol LP6 is due next year. Let’s hope the (super)group decide to pursue this venture, though, because after this truly fine start, they would be mad not to.