The Forest Is The Path (Extended Edition)

Reigniting their tender, earnest brand of early-2000s indie rock, Snow Patrol returned after a six-year gap with their eighth album, The Forest Is the Path. Produced by Fraser T. Smith (Adele, Stormzy), the set retains all of the Scottish bands typical hallmarks: faint piano twinkles, atmospheric guitars, patient, midtempo beats, and Gary Lightbodys wounded vocals and vulnerable lyrics about love and time. The soaring opener, "All," sets the tone as Lightbody warns, "And they say that pride, it comes before the fall/But so does silence, dear." The energy switches for the relatively explosive "The Beginning" and continues to build as the album progresses, swelling with the grandeur of "This Is the Sound of Your Voice" and the urgent, guitar-driven "Hold Me in the Fire." Recalling early-era gems like "Spitting Games," catchy standouts such as the poppy earworm "Everythings Here and Nothings Lost" and the intense, uptempo blast "Years That Fall" could even score the group additional mainstream hits (if given the chance). The drama escalates toward the close with "Never Really Tire" and the heartbreaking "These Lies," pushing the already heightened emotions further to the brink. For a band whose output has slowed to just three albums in nearly two decades, this set proves that taking ones time and re-emerging when theres something to say really pays off. Big feelings and even bigger yearning continue to be the orders of the day -- no surprise for longtime listeners and mutual fans of Travis, Keane, and early Coldplay -- making The Forest Is the Path yet another late-era treasure trove that highlights all the facets of Snow Patrols pure emotional catharsis and introspection. ~ Neil Z. Yeung

6年ぶり通算8枚目のアルバムはフレイザーT・スミス(アデル、ストームジー)がプロデュースを担当。バンド・サウンド主体の曲ではポジティヴなムードを漂わせる一方、ギャリー・ライトボディが〈自己の内面に向き合った〉と語る通り、弾き語りスタイルの曲では彼の歌声がいつも以上に感傷的で聴き手の心を打つ。特にシリアスな曲が連続するアルバム後半の流れが感動的。
bounce (C)赤瀧洋二