Snow Patrol: “Chasing Cars”
Yawn. Bereft of originality and blatantly an effort to re-create the magic of 2004’s mega-anthem “Run”, Snow Patrol turn in a numbing bore of a single, their biggest flop yet. Further evidence that lead singer Gary Lightbody wants nothing more than to be Chris Martin, “Chasing Cars” plods along with the overwrought vocals and tangible melodrama that is so often found in these over-the-top vanilla Britpop ballads. Unfortunately for Snow Patrol and those in the UK who will be forced to endure this song 20 times a day on British radio, it never really goes anywhere or amounts to anything. Sure, the strings swell and later the instrumentation drops out to force us to focus on Lightbody’s emotional final verse, but neither do anything to make the track feel any less cliché or contrived (rather, they only make things worse). Yeah, this is giving “Run” (which peaked at #5 on the UK charts and even charted in the US) a major run for its money as the group’s highest-charting single (it’s currently at #7), but Snow Patrol should really be held to a higher standard than this. I’m curious if any self-respecting music fans (or even long-time Snow Patrol fans) actually like this as anything more than a guilty pleasure; get at me in the comments.
MP3: “Chasing Cars” - Snow Patrol
The Hey Team, who are a self-described “Underground Resistance Unit formed to combat the vain and pretentious Hipster scene”, take this incredibly lame template and actually manage to make a remarkably good remix out of it, dressing Lightbody’s emotional whines up in samples (of everything from birds chirping to children playing) and glitch-pop booms and bips.
Bonus MP3: “Chasing Cars” (Hey Team Remix) - Snow Patrol [exclusive, holla]
Much like the song, the video is pretty and everything, but ultimately dissapoints. Iceland’s Arni & Kinski, whose track record is more or less spotless to this point, direct here, but the video proves to actually out-bore the song. Arni & Kinski are pretty much the gold standard as far as stunningly beautiful cinematography is concerned, and while that’s present again here, the plot and concept of the clip are just flawed from the start. I mean, regardless of how perfect the lighting and natural shots are in the video, did anyone over at HSI (their production company) really think we’d get psyched to see a clip that consists solely of Lightbody (in order): wringing his hands, staring dramatically into the distance, getting drenched by rain, and, finally, flopping into the water. And also, considering Lightbody’s chronic blinking issue, extreme-closeups of his face and eyes as he’s getting pelted by raindrops may not have been the best idea ever. There may never have been a more boring treatment proposed in the history of videos. Despite my harsh feelings for the clip, I’m still posting it as this site gets a lot of love from Snow Patrol fans and I’m sure there are some out there who will still want it, despite my critical assessment. Recommended for insomniacs.
Video: “Chasing Cars” - Snow Patrol
Directed By: Arni & Kinski
Watch: [YouTube]
Download: [Quicktime] [iPod]