Fallen Empires (album)

Fallen Empires is the sixth studio album by Northern Irish-Scottish rock band Snow Patrol. The album was released on 11 November 2011[1] (10 January 2012 in North America). The album became the first to feature future member Johnny McDaid, who was credited as guest musician and songwriter in the album liner notes, and would officially join the band following the tour.[2] It is also the last album to feature keyboardist Tom Simpson, who would later depart the band in 2013. American singer Lissie provided additional vocals for six songs on the album ("I'll Never Let Go", "The Weight of Love", "The Garden Rules", "Fallen Empires", "Berlin", and "Those Distant Bells").

Fallen Empires
Studio album by Snow Patrol
Released	11 November 2011
Recorded	October 2010 – May 2011
Genre	Alternative rock indietronica indie rock pop rock
Length	57:17
Label	Fiction Interscope Island (US)
Producer	Jacknife Lee
Snow Patrol chronology
Up to Now (2009) Fallen Empires (2011) Greatest Hits (2013)
Singles from Fallen Empires
"Called Out in the Dark" Released: 2 September 2011 "This Isn't Everything You Are" Released: 14 October 2011 "New York" Released: 20 December 2011 "In the End" Released: 13 February 2012 "Lifening" Released: 5 July 2012

Background and development

When asked about the writing process for the album, Gary Lightbody commented by saying "It's the longest album we've ever made by far but also the best. We took our time and I also had some bouts of writer's block. It's the first time it's happened for such a long time. I've had days when I haven't been able to write. Since 2009, I've gone through three writer's blocks but I'm glad because the results are great afterwards. They probably made me write better songs."[3] Snow Patrol planned a "Fallen Empires tour" in 2012 with the first date being at the O2 in Dublin.[4] The song "New York" can be heard at the end of "Suddenly" (Season 8 Episode 10) of Grey's Anatomy.[5][6][7] The song is also played in "After School Special" (Season 4 Episode 10) of The Vampire Diaries.[8][9]

Singles

• "Called Out in the Dark" was released as the first single from the album on 2 September 2011 in the UK as an EP.[10] A video was released for the song before its release date on 17 August 2011.[11]
• "This Isn't Everything You Are" was announced as the second single from the album on Snow Patrol's official site.[12] It was released on 14 October 2011.
• "New York" was the third single from the album released in America on 20 December 2011.[13]
• "In the End" was released as the fourth single on 13 February.
• "Lifening" was the fifth single and was released on 5 July.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	58/100[14]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[15]
Clash	(4/10)[16]
Daily Express	[17]
Entertainment Weekly	(B)[18]
The Guardian	[19]
The Independent	[20]
Los Angeles Times	[21]
The Observer	[22]
Pitchfork	(4.8/10)[23]
Rolling Stone	[24]
Spin	(5/10)[25]
The Telegraph	[26]
Toronto Star	[27]

Fallen Empires received mixed reviews from critics.[14] According to the website Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average review score of 58/100, based on 25 reviews, which indicates "mixed or average reviews".[14]

James Christopher Monger wrote a favorable review for Allmusic, stating that the album "establishes an expansive vista of sound early on, bathing fairly simple melodies in waves of fastidious loops and sparse percussion."[15] Mike Haydock wrote a positive review for BBC Music, analysing that "Best of all are the moments when Snow Patrol blend the two approaches together, combining their own aesthetic with an Achtung Baby adoration."[28] Entertainment Weekly's Melissa Maerz wrote that "For all the sentiment, it's the simplest stuff that rings true."[18] The New York Times's Nate Chinen praised the songwriting, saying that "What makes this all feel reasonably unforced is the abiding earnestness in the songwriting."[29] The A.V. Club wrote that the album "it's comforting at worst and occasionally fantastic."[30]

Dave Simpson wrote an average review, saying that "Although the variation in styles doesn't make for the most cohesive album, the default mood is still downbeat but anthemic--songs for couples to cling tightly to one another while raising mobiles in the air."[19] While Now Magazine found out that "In the first few songs they stretch themselves creatively and come up with promising results, but halfway through it's back to overwrought ballads and middle-of-the-road mid-tempo rock songs."[31] A mixed review came from Rolling Stone's Stacey Anderson, who wrote that "Snow Patrol fall back to the blandly inoffensive safe zone--though at least they sound a little brighter."[24] Pitchfork Media thought that "the results are goofy."[23] The Daily Telegraph criticized the album for "stick[ing] too rigidly to the formula."[14]

Commercial performance

In 2011, Fallen Empires sold 269,000 copies in the UK.[32] The album debuted at number five on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 31,000 copies. It became the band's highest debut on the Billboard chart and the second album to reach the top-ten.[33]

Track listing

The track list for Fallen Empires is as follows.[34]

All lyrics are written by Gary Lightbody; all music is composed by Snow Patrol and Jacknife Lee, except "New York" by Snow Patrol, Lee and Johnny McDaid.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"I'll Never Let Go"	4:44
2.	"Called Out in the Dark"	4:01
3.	"The Weight of Love"	4:16
4.	"This Isn't Everything You Are"	4:58
5.	"The Garden Rules"	4:29
6.	"Fallen Empires"	5:20
7.	"Berlin"	2:05
8.	"Lifening"	3:53
9.	"New York"	4:01
10.	"In the End"	4:00
11.	"Those Distant Bells"	3:17
12.	"The Symphony"	6:07
13.	"The President"	4:35
14.	"Broken Bottles Form a Star (Prelude)"	1:30

There was also a special digipak version of the album showing highlights of the band playing live at the Royal Albert Hall on 25 November 2009 on their 'Reworked' tour. The track listing is as follows:

First half highlights:

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Finish Line"
2.	"An Olive Grove Facing the Sea"
3.	"Give Me Strength"
4.	"You Could Be Happy"
5.	"Take Back the City"

Second half highlights:

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Dark Roman Wine"
2.	"Spitting Games"
3.	"Run"
4.	"Lifeboats"
5.	"The Planets Bend Between Us"
6.	"Chasing Cars"

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2011-2012) Peak position Australian Albums Chart[35] 24 Austrian Albums Chart[36] 10 Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[37] 4 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[38] 9 Canadian Albums Chart[39][40] 2 Danish Albums Chart[41] 27 Dutch Albums Chart[42] 1 Finnish Albums Chart[43] 46 French Albums Chart[44] 70 German Albums Chart[45] 3 Irish Albums Chart[46] 1 Mexican Albums Chart[47] 90 New Zealand Albums Chart[48] 27 Norwegian Albums Chart[49] 40 Spanish Albums Chart[50] 65 Swiss Albums Chart[51] 6 UK Albums Chart[52] 3 US Billboard 200[33][40][53] 5 US Billboard Top Alternative Albums[40][54] 2 US Billboard Top Rock Albums[40][55] 2 US Billboard Top Digital Albums[40][56] 3

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Belgium (BEA)[57] Gold 15,000^* Germany (BVMI)[58] Gold 100,000^^ Ireland (IRMA)[59] Platinum 15,000^^ Netherlands (NVPI)[60] Gold 25,000^^ United Kingdom (BPI)[61] Platinum 300,000^^ ^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone Year-end charts Chart (2011) Position German Albums Chart[62] 71 UK Albums Chart 40 Chart (2012) Position Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[63] 36 Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[63] 89 Dutch Albums Chart[64] 67

Personnel

Snow Patrol

• Gary Lightbody – vocals, guitar, backing vocals
• Nathan Connolly – guitar, backing vocals
• Paul Wilson – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Jonny Quinn – drums, percussion
• Tom Simpson – keyboards, samples
• Johnny McDaid - piano, guitar

Other personnel

James "Big Jim" Anderson – tuba Stephen Wick – tuba John Barclay – trumpet Guy Barker – trumpet Pat White – trumpet Richard Bayliss – horns Evgeny Chebykin – horns Jocelyn Lightfoot – horns Timothy Brown – horns Kira Doherty – horns Philip Eastop – horns[65]

Avshalom Caspi – brass arrangement Ian Fasham – bass trombone David A. Stewart – bass trombone Dan Jenkins – trombone Colin Sheen – trombone Sam Bell – engineer, editing Tom McFall – engineer Philip Rose – engineer Tilmann Ilse – assistant engineer Karen Kelleher – assistant engineer Owen Lewis – assistant engineer[65]

James Jarvis – choir director John Ross – photography John C.F. Davis – mastering Hilary Skewes – contractor Cenzo Townshend – mixing Neil Comber – mixing assistant Dave Emery – mixing assistant Jacknife Lee – guitar, keyboards, programming, producer, glass harmonica, mixing[65]

References

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