When Snow Patrol released their last album, Fallen Empires, Obama was still in his first term, Justin Bieber was 17 years old and Game of Thrones had just aired its first season. The thematically ambitious follow-up, Wildness, is finally out, but where have they been for the last seven years? Frontman Gary Lightbody explained the struggles behind that delay, his experiences working with Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift, and much more, in an in-depth interview on the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, hosted by Brian Hiatt. Here are some highlights from the conversation. To hear the entire discussion, press play below or download and subscribe on iTunes or Spotify.
"A lot of the reason why it took seven years to make this record was because for the first five of them I was hammered," Lightbody says. "And then, you know, two years ago I quit. And lo and behold, as if by magic, we started working in earnest with gusto. I got to a stage with drinking where it wasn't fun anymore. It was creating too many problems for me and my health. I would go out and get drunk every every day and sometimes just be sitting in a bar by myself drinking and I always promised myself that I would never do that that."

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