SEVEN years is a long time for a rock band, enough to cover Nirvana's entire existence and for The Beatles to record every album they ever made.
When Snow Patrol released Fallen Empires in 2011, they knew it was probably going to be their last album for a while: following a relentless schedule of touring and promotion dating back to breakthrough record Final Straw in 2003, taking a much-needed break following the completion of live work in 2012 (barring the odd festival appearance the following year) seemed like a logical move.
However, the band – Gary Lightbody (guitar/vocals), Johnny McDaid (guitar/keys), Nathan Connolly (guitar/vocals), Jonny Quinn (drums) and Paul Wilson (bass) – never thought it would take them a full seven years to get a new LP together.
"To say it's been a while is definitely an understatement," admits Connolly, who joined Snow Patrol during the recording of Final Straw in 2002.
"We took our sweet time, that's for sure. But I think ultimately it kind of helped shape and make what this record has become."
The reason for the band's delayed rebirth has been much publicised: Lightbody was suffering from a crippling writer's block stemming from the usual maladies of the middle-aged music star.
The Bangor man was also putting himself under intense pressure to come up with something special, demanding nothing less than "10 f***ing classic songs" for what would become his band's seventh album.
However, from the striking pair of singles to be released from Wildness thus far – contemplative album opener Life on Earth and the defiantly upbeat Don't Give In – it seems apparent that the frontman's struggles have been worth it for Snow Patrol in the long run.
"It weirdly feels like all the time off was exactly the right amount we needed to take – not that any of us ever thought it would take so many years," muses Connolly, who took advantage of Snow Patrol's downtime to front his own rock band, Little Matador, releasing a self-titled debut album in 2014.
"There was no bitterness between anybody but we did four records in 10 years, with constant touring. I think everyone was just ready for a break, even if some people might not have realised it.
"I think it was healthy – essential, actually. Not just for us to have a break from each other but for the band itself. We were everywhere, which was great, but I think we were becoming part of the furniture a bit.
"We needed to take a step back and then come back with something different, feeling reinvigorated and ready to do it all again."
Yes, to quote Bono's famous words at the conclusion of U2's world-conquering Joshua Tree tour, the quintet had to "go away and dream it all up again".
Thus, on the soon to be released Wildness, Snow Patrol largely eschew the kind of 'stadium indie' they became known for post-Final Straw in favour of a more spacious, adventurous and contemporary sound; Life on Earth is notable for the amount of 'breathing space' left between its instrumentation, poppy constructions Don't Give In and A Youth Written in Fire find Lightbody experimenting with his vocal range as the band pulse in a new, synth-augmented manner, while affecting piano ballad What If This Is All The Love You Ever Get? is pretty much carried just by tinkled ivories and the singer's plaintive vocal.
"I think we've got a lot better at our songwriting: our craft, our confidence about who we are, what we are, where we're going and where we've come from," enthuses Connolly of returning to Snow Patrol after their protracted break.
"I feel like we're in the best shape as a band that we've probably ever been and that certainly comes through on the record. At its core, it's still what we do, which is big melodic songs. But I think we've 'streamlined' things, for want of a better word.
"It's still big on production, sometimes deceptively so. But compared to Fallen Empires, where everything was big and full-on and every inch of sonic space was taken up by something – I think we may have actually played a kitchen sink – this time the songs definitely breathe a bit more."
Of course, moving beyond the comfortable guitar-laden bombast of old wasn't without its challenges for the Snow Patrol man, who admits he had to adapt his playing to some of their new songs.
"It certainly brought up the question of 'what do I do?'," Connolly tells me of the recording process for Wildness, which was produced by the Patrol's long-time studio guru Garrett 'Jacknife' Lee.
"It was an amazing challenge and opportunity to think a different way, to approach things a different way. This time around we had the skeletons of the songs kind of there [in advance], which allowed me to concentrate on guitar and find my way into it.
"I'm lucky in the kind of guitar that I play, where the engine room is going and I kind of get to sit on top of that and explore where to go. It was actually a lot of fun to do that this time around because there was a lot more space to make certain moments really count."
Now, all that remains is for Snow Patrol to get out on patrol again and play the new songs to a fanbase chomping at the bit to hear them: their imminent Irish dates in Derry (May 11), Cork (May 12), Dublin (May 15), Wexford (May 16), Galway (May 18) and Belfast (May 20) have been sold out for weeks, with Killarney (May 14) the sole show still on sale.
"Getting out and playing it live is what we're looking forward to the most now, especially as we're starting off in Ireland," enthuses Connolly.
"There's no better place for us to begin again."
Snow Patrol, May 14, INEC, Killarney. Tickets via Ticketmaster.ie. Gary Lightbody and Jonny Quinn will present an exclusive playback of selected tracks from Wildness tomorrow at Dublin's Vinyl Festival. Ticket and event info at Vinyl-dublin.com. Wildness is released on May 25.
