'We won't have another seven-year break this time', promise Snow Patrol

In life, there are several milestones that swirl up an array of complex and conflicting emotions. Your first day at school, your wedding day, or the birth of your first child, and, if you’re a musician, the release of every single record throughout your career. 'It’s a combination of trepidation, excitement and relief,' says Snow Patrol’s drummer Jonny Quinn, of the release of Wildness, the band’s seventh studio album.

'People ask what you hope for the record, but the truth is that you just don't know. It’s mostly just a relief to be back at it and playing gigs after five-and-a-half years. And so far, everyone seems to be really happy that we’re back.'

You might wonder why artists of such esteem would be feeling any doubts, given their triumphant track record. This is the band whose major label debut, Final Straw, was certified five-times platinum in the UK and eventually sold over three million copies worldwide. Whose anthemic hits, 'Chasing Cars' and 'Run', were the antidote to a generation’s glorious melancholy. Who have successfully held their own for over two decades in an industry which has slowly been coming apart at the seams around them.

Inherently humble, it’s not surprising that the Northern Irish rockers haven’t ridden back into the music scene on a gold chariot fuelled by hype and braggadocio, however much of their introspection seems to be down to the sheer amount of time that has passed since their last album, Fallen Empires. Seven years in the music industry is a long time, particularly when those years have been some of the most turbulent for labels and artists alike. However, if there was ever a time the world needed a Snow Patrol album to galvanise and uplift our spirits, it’s now, and fortunately, Wildness fits the bill perfectly.

Emotionally complex, intelligent and bruisingly honest, the album skimps on none of Lighbody’s soaring melodies. The lead single 'Don’t Give In' is a straightforward call-to-arms for the lost and weary, 'Life on Earth' is an existential triumph, and the entire record vibrates with an earnest, open rawness. 'Wildness being that the world feels wilder. There feels like there is more chaos than there used to be,' explains Quinn. 'A lot of the songs are also about Gary’s own depression and frustration about not being able to write songs and that fear that hits everybody at some point, in a creative sense.'

For lead singer Lightbody, the last few years have been particularly brutal as his ongoing battle with alcohol abuse and depression manifested itself in crippling writer's block. Quinn reveals that the band actually were in the studio around two years ago with most of the musical aspects of the album in place, but Lightbody simply couldn’t verbalise his experience. 'Maybe he was trying to write songs without having a reason to, and he’s not that kind of writer. So, there was a big gap. But it had to be right; the songs couldn’t be forced.'

Certainly, Wildness wouldn’t be the record it is had Lighbody not dug so deep, for that kind of vulnerable grace and candour cannot be faked. In his own words, the 41-year-old frontman says it is the first record he has written where he didn’t just ‘ask a bunch of questions’, adding: 'I actually tried to figure out why I was unhappy, why I feel out of place, why I’m afraid.'

Now fully recovered, Lightbody and co. are eager to crack on with what is arguably the most rewarding part of the process, touring. 'That’s what we’ve been doing for 20 years and we’ve all missed that part of it. We like the studio but getting to go out and play all over the world is the most thrilling part,' says Quinn.