From the Post:
Snow Patrol
The world would be a better place if power pop bands would heed philosopher Francis Bacon, who concluded, "There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion." Take Scotland's Snow Patrol, for example. Frontman Gary Lightbody -- who also moonlights in the Reindeer Section -- sets his choirboy voice to drop-dead melodies to make flawless -- perhaps too-flawless -- music.
That seems to have changed on Snow Patrol's excellent new album "Final Straw," however. And as Lightbody -- who apologized for his brogue, promising "next time I'll bring subtitles" -- demonstrated Saturday at the 9:30 club, he isn't afraid to sacrifice prettiness for raw power. So much raw power, indeed, that on its penultimate song Snow Patrol temporarily shorted out the power, blowing the lights (the emergency lights kicked on) and microphones.
Lightbody isn't your typical shoe-gazer, preferring to twitch about the stage during the madly catchy "Run," the irresistible "Chocolate" and the fast-paced "Spitting Games." Snow Patrol didn't neglect to play a few painfully romantic songs (but in a good -- as opposed to Eric Carmen -- way), such as "An Olive Grove Facing the Sea" and "When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up." It also displayed some nice harmony singing, especially on "Same" and "Somewhere a Clock Is Ticking."
But the evening's highlight was "Ways and Means," a surprisingly funky tune -- the funk and the kilt, together at last! -- that had Lightbody singing, "Baby I can do it if I put my back into it." Given the surprisingly large and enthusiastic crowd who cheered his every move Saturday, he's right.
-- Michael Little
