Snow Patrol overcome a bout of writer's block and that the songs written for the new album were scrapped before being replaced by new "mind-boggling" material. On 28 January 2018, the band's social media announced the upcoming release of their seventh studio album, entitled "Wildness", which was released on 25 May 2018. The promotional video simply showed lead singer Gary Lightbody floating on a raft with a piano and seemingly trying to phone someone who is engaged. The success of Snow Patrol has influenced the thriving Belfast music scene positively. This includes Lightbody, who returned to the city and now lives there.
Gary Lightbody phase ran for two years. He later gave up drinking and now does it "for fun" and credits his bandmates for the turnaround. The song "Disaster Button" ("A Hundred Million Suns") deals with this topic. Though a musician, he cannot read music and has said that he "guesses" his way through chords. He has a baritone vocal range. When at the University of Dundee, Lightbody met Nick DeCosemo, a fellow student, and the two became friends. DeCosemo also moved in Lightbody's Springfield apartment when he moved out of his parents' house. Nick had formed a club night called The Spaceship