Comedian Colin Murphy talks about Final Straw:
"I would have been aware of them from playing the Limelight in Belfast and I would have seen posters of them around the place, so I was already aware of Snow Patrol when Final Straw was released. I read a review of it when it came out saying it was great and sure enough when I bought it I discovered that it was. ‘Chocolate’ and ‘Run’ are the two songs on the album that stand out for me but it’s almost like every song on the album is a single.
"What I really like about them is there’s something really positive and upbeat about them. I hate all that acoustic stuff – you know the kind, ‘I have an acoustic guitar so I must be sincere’ kind of stuff – and I like the fact that they stand apart from all of that. There’s a rash of it around and for that reason alone I like them.
"Their songs are absolutely everywhere at the minute – in every TV ad and every clip of a goal being scored – so there is a danger of overkill. The big challenge for them will be in trying to avoid the Simple Minds syndrome and coming up with a follow-up album that isn’t over-produced. "

Laura Donaghy, hotpress.com
"Snow Patrol are the best band on the music scene at the minute and Final Straw is a musical journey through life, love, loss and fear. ‘Ways And Means’ is probably the best song ever."

Darren Christie, hotpress.com
"Final Straw is just simply the most amazing album to date. They hit every single emotion with the album and it plays like a Snow Patrol Greatest Hits. It really is a masterpiece. So fresh and so different – just what the music world needs."