As soon as a band’s follow-up album is in the works, the word “sellout” is waiting at the tip of everyone’s tongue, ready to be flung at its target at the drop of a hat. And this time, that target is Snow Patrol.

Any trace of the coarse, local-band feel that made their previous album, Final Straw, so unique and acclaimed has now been buffed away by high-tech studio magic. The result is overtly refined heavy guitars and lingering pop melodies that would make any Coldplay fan do a double take. Too bad lead vocalist Gary Lightbody doesn’t have Martin’s bad hair and worse teeth.

Eyes Open isn’t a bad album by any means. Snow Patrol’s smooth, sentimental lyrics are still thankfully intact, as evident in “Hands Open” and “You’re All I Have.” In “Set Fire to the Third Bar,” Lightbody’s melodic tone weaves with Martha Wainwright’s ghostly fragile voice, making for an eerie, hypnotic and audibly engaging duet.

But as the album progresses, you start to feel as if the songs are repeating themselves, with only the fast rocking or soft reflective melody to set them apart. Angsty romance? We get it. Bar on fire? We get that too. Snow Patrol may have some great potential singles on the album, but by the time the end of the record rolls around, it’s hard for anyone to keep their eyes open.