Fallen Empires (album)

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." Snow Patrol planned a "Fallen Empires tour" in 2012 with the first date being at the O2 in Dublin. The song "New York" can be heard at the end of "Suddenly" (Season 8 Episode 10) of Grey's Anatomy. The song is also played in "After School Special" (Season 4 Episode 10) of The Vampire Diaries.

Singles

Critical reception

Fallen Empires received mixed reviews from critics. 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".

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." 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." Entertainment Weekly's Melissa Maerz wrote that "For all the sentiment, it's the simplest stuff that rings true." 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." The A.V. Club wrote that the album "it's comforting at worst and occasionally fantastic."

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." 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." 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." Pitchfork Media thought that "the results are goofy." The Daily Telegraph criticized the album for "stick[ing] too rigidly to the formula."

Commercial performance

In 2011, Fallen Empires sold 269,000 copies in the UK. 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.

Track listing

The track list for Fallen Empires is as follows.

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

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

First half highlights:

Second half highlights: