Gary Lightbody (Snow Patrol), poet and songwriter
It's always a joy when you make a chance discovery of a song or album that turns out to be a real gem. That happened a couple of months ago. Gary Lightbody, the lead singer and central creative force behind Snow Patrol released a side project under the name of Tired Pony, for which he gathered together friends and fellow musicians such as former Snow Patrol member Iain Archer, Pete Buck (REM), Jacknife Lee, Scott McCaughey (part-time REM) and Tom Smith (Editors). The result is an intoxicating collection of generally mellow, slightly countrified songs that grew in the studio through the guiding hand of Lightbody and the alchemy of the musicians there present. They very effectively showcase Lightbody's beautiful relationship-centred lyrics. I find the following song particularly appealing with its wonderfully evocative words, its slow build up around a repeated chord progression leading to a transcendent conclusion (the type of thing that Sigur Ros do on many of their songs, incl...