Snow Patrol show is a peak experience

There are a number of factors that play into a band achieving buzz status. It's an intangible quality that industry types strive for -- and one that has no formula.

Selling out a show on a Monday night at a venue like the Paradise, which Snow Patrol did this week, is one sure sign that a band is getting buzzworthy. Another is when the entire room is immediately and enthusiastically enraptured by a radio single, as those in attendance were by the band's biggest track to date, "How to Be Dead."

Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody, wearing a Red Sox jersey, captivated the full house, driving his five-piece outfit through an engaging, nearly 90-minute set that showcased the band's latest release, "Final Straw."

Mixing guitar that brought Idlewild to mind with a keyboard and synth sensibility more reminiscent of Coldplay, Snow Patrol seems to have soaked up influences from all corners of the United Kingdom. However, from the first notes of the opening "Wow," it was clear that the band had managed to draw just the right elements from its peers to create its own absorbing sound.

Equally impressive was the band's pacing, building into an early climax with "How To Be Dead" but managing to maintain momentum. It is all too easy for a fledgling band to lose flow following a current hit, but the one-two punch of "Chocolate" and "An Olive Grove Facing the Sea," a lush track from the group's 2001 effort, "When It's All Over We Still Have to Clear Up," reinforced the band's dexterity with sympathetic lyrics and punishing guitars.

Perhaps part of the Snow Patrol charm lies in the band's ability to channel such aggressive guitar work with an equally sensitive disposition. "Run" was the perfect platform for an earnest sing-along while the churning "Black and Blue" proved the band's fearlessness with heavier riffs. Meanwhile, the melding of perky club beats with the prominent bass line that fueled "Tiny Little Fractures" showed the band knows its Fatboy Slim. Talk about well-rounded.

Snow Patrol
At: the Paradise, Monday