Snow Patrol guitarist Nathan Connolly has announced his debut solo album and teamed up with Biffy Clyro frontman Simon Neil on the lead single.
The 42-year-old musician – who has been the lead guitar player and backing vocalist in the Irish rock group since 2002 – has unveiled his new LP ‘The Strange Order Of Things’, which is set for release on April 21.
He’s also shared the single ‘Fires’, which was co-written with and features Scottish rocker Simon, who he’d been wanting to work with for many years after first meeting in 2003.
Nathan said: “I have known Simon since back in my early days with Snow Patrol. The first show I remember playing together was a Zane Lowe MTV Gonzo show in Glasgow in 2003. Over the years we occasionally mentioned doing something together at some point. Finally, the opportunity came in the form of Fires. He is extraordinary and came at the song from somewhere I don’t think I would or could have.”
The record is about “trying to understand, make sense and work through events that have led to who I am now: heartache, regret, emotional cost, fatherhood.”
The upcoming collection also features Dublin musician Ailbhe Reddy on the opening track ‘Ghost’.
While it’s his first solo record, Nathan launched the side project Little Matador in 2013, who released their self-titled debut LP in 2014.
His Matador bandmate Dave Magee also co-wrote ‘Fires’.
The solo album was started back in 2017, but when the COVID-19 lockdowns imposed saw Snow Patrol forced into a hiatus from touring, Nathan was able to complete the record at the start of 2021.
He said: “Although the album is not about home. I felt compelled to make it there.”
Pre-order the album via nathanconnolly.bandcamp.com and stream ‘Fires’ on all major streaming platforms.
The track-listing for ‘The Strange Order Of Things’ is:
1. ‘Ghost’ ft. Ailbhe Reddy
2. ‘Heart Of Stone’
3. ‘We’
4. ‘This Life’s Light’
5. ‘Love Like Wildfire’
6. ‘This Is All That I Don’t Feel’
7. ‘The Last Time’
8. ‘Waves’
9. ‘Fires’ ft. Simon Neil
10. ‘Night Songs’