Additional personnel: Fiona McCapra, Alison Dods (violin); Bruce White (viola); James Banbury (cello, piano); Iain Archer (background vocals).

Scotland's Snow Patrol formed in the mid-1990s, united by a love for both American and British alternative rock. Led by singer/guitarist Gary Lightbody, the band recorded two albums for the revered Jeepster label (home of Belle & Sebastian) before signing with A&M Records. FINAL STRAW, the group's major-label debut, finds Snow Patrol expanding its indie-rock guitar-based sound with greater focus on keyboards, strings, and fuller production values (courtesy of Garret Lee). Lightbody's charming vocals and lyrics provide the band's emotional center, as best evidenced on the wistful opener "How to Be Dead" and the slowly building "Run." Although Snow Patrol knows its way around quiet melancholy, the ensemble is also capable of rocking out ("Spitting Games," "Chocolate"), revealing an aesthetic that places the group squarely in the ranks of Coldplay, Travis, and other Britpop luminaries.