BLUR aren't the only band who have to worry about disappearing into the shadow of their lead singer's side projects. On a slightly less globally successful scale, Snow Patrol face a similar problem. Gary Lightbody's vast, sprawling indie collective, the Reindeer Section, have released two critically adored albums since Snow Patrol's last outing, both packed to the gills with members of bands that have distinctly higher profiles than the Patrol themselves. But, just as Blur justified their existence with Think Tank, so Snow Patrol raise their already impressive game on Final Straw. From the Guided by Voices propulsion of Wow to the shimmering Spirtualized bliss of Run, the band live up to their undeniable lyric: "If it looks like it works, and it feels like it works, it works."
Polydor