Songs for Polarbears is the debut album by Northern Irish–Scottish alternative rock band Snow Patrol, released on 31 August 1998 in the United Kingdom and 12 October in the United States.[7]
| Songs for Polarbears | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 31 August 1998 | |||
| Recorded | 1996–1997 | |||
| Studio | Chamber Studios, Edinburgh | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 49:49 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Jamie Watson | |||
| Snow Patrol chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Songs for Polarbears | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [2] |
| NME | 8/10[3] |
| Pitchfork Media | 8.1/10[5] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [6] |
The album charted at #143 in the UK and did not sell well upon its initial release. However, its re-release eventually went Gold in the UK.
Background
editThe band was listening to a diverse range of music at the time, with majority of it being American rock like Pixies, Soundgarden and Dinosaur Jr. Other acts included My Bloody Valentine and Super Furry Animals' first album Fuzzy Logic.[8] All these influences resulted in a musically diverse album that incorporated styles like hip hop, drone and Pavement-style indie rock.[9] The album title is a reference to the band's previous name Polarbear.[10]
Track listing
editAll lyrics are written by Gary Lightbody; all music is composed by Gary Lightbody and Mark McClelland
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Downhill from Here" | 3:23 |
| 2. | "Starfighter Pilot" | 3:19 |
| 3. | "The Last Shot Ringing in My Ears" | 4:26 |
| 4. | "Absolute Gravity" | 2:45 |
| 5. | "Get Balsamic Vinegar...Quick You Fool" | 3:27 |
| 6. | "Mahogany" | 2:46 |
| 7. | "NYC" | 4:27 |
| 8. | "Little Hide" | 2:41 |
| 9. | "Make Up" | 2:12 |
| 10. | "Velocity Girl" | 4:37 |
| 11. | "Days Without Paracetamol" | 3:32 |
| 12. | "Fifteen Minutes Old" | 3:08 |
| 13. | "Favourite Friend" | 2:46 |
| 14. | "One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed" | 2:11 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "I Could Stay Away Forever" | 4:28 |
| 16. | "Sticky Teenage Twin" | 2:08 |
| 17. | "Holy Cow" | 1:54 |
| 18. | "When You're Right, You're Right" (Darth Vader Bringing in His Washing Mix) | 3:31 |
- "Marketplace" (3:48) is included as a hidden track after "One Hundred Things You Should Have Done in Bed" on both versions.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Sticky Teenage Twin" | 2:08 |
| 16. | "Limited Edition" | 2:33 |
| 17. | "Jj" | 1:47 |
| 18. | "My Last Girlfriend" | 2:59 |
| 19. | "T.M.T." | 2:51 |
| 20. | "I Could Stay Away Forever" | 4:28 |
| 21. | "When You're Right, You're Right" (Darth Vader Bringing in His Washing Mix) | 3:31 |
| 22. | "Raze the City" | 4:20 |
| 23. | "Riot, Please" | 2:52 |
Personnel
editSnow Patrol
- Gary Lightbody – vocals, guitar, keyboards, drums on "Riot, Please"
- Mark McClelland – bass guitar, keyboards
- Jonny Quinn – drums
Other personnel
- Richard Colburn – drums, keyboards on track 2
- Isobel Campbell – vocals on track 7
- Fraser Simpson – guitar on track 11[12]
Charts
edit| Chart (1998–2006) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Albums Chart[13] | 90 |
| UK Albums Chart[14] | 143 |
Certifications
edit| Organization | Level | Date[15] |
|---|---|---|
| BPI (UK) | Silver | 3 February 2006 |
| BPI (UK) | Gold | 15 June 2007 |
References
edit- ^ "Snow Patrol - Songs for Polarbears (US Version)". Interscope.com. Retrieved 18 October 2009.
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ Beaumont, Mark (1 September 1998). "Snow Patrol - Songs For Polarbears". NME. Archived from the original on 17 August 2000. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ Bergstrom, John (23 June 2006). "Snow Patrol: Songs for Polarbears". PopMatters.com. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
- ^ "Snow Patrol: Songs for Polarbears: Pitchfork Record Review". 16 February 2008. Archived from the original on 16 February 2008.
- ^ "Snow Patrol: Songs for Polar Bears : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 1 October 2007.
- ^ "Songs for Polarbears". Snow Patrol. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ^ Zimmerman, Kevin (9 March 2005). "Snow Patrol". BMI. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 25 October 2009.
- ^ Syairi Ramly, Adly (9 July 2004). "Join this Snow patrol". AccessMyLibrary. The Malay Mail. Archived from the original on 20 October 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2009. Appears as: "The musical diversity that ranges from hip hop beats to guitar drone to Pavement-esque indie rock that can be heard on the album is strong enough of a reason to make them a cult favourite."
- ^ Bailie, Stuart (3 February 1999). "Licensed to chill". Hot Press. Retrieved 4 January 2010. Appears as: "Once they were called Shrug, and more recently, Polarbear, which was changed when another, similarly titled act started getting a bit frosty. Hence the title of the album."
- ^ "Snow Patrol album reissues". Jeepster. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2009.
- ^ "Snow Patrol : Songs for Polarbears". Discogs.com.
- ^ "Snow Patrol - Albums". Irish-charts.com. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
- ^ "Chart Log UK: DJ S - The System Of Life". Zobbel.de.
- ^ "Certified Awards Search". BPI. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2009. Note: Need to manually search for 'Snow Patrol'