Snow Patrol has christened its new album “Eyes Open” and is planning an April release. The group is working again with producer Garret Lee, who was behind the boards for the 2003 breakthrough album “Final Straw.” “We’ve experimented a lot more with sounds and odd instruments we’ve never used and pushed ourselves as far as we can but the essence of what we are is still the same,” frontman Gary Lightbody said in a recent chat with fans on Snow Patrol’s Web site. “Essentially it’s based around melody.”Lightbody added that while in the studio, the group has been listening to such acts as Cocteau Twins, Kate Bush (“for strange vocal melodies”) and composer Gyorgy Ligeti (“for strange arrangements”). He is particularly high on the track “Chasing Cars,” which he calls “the purest love song I’ve written. No tinges of darkness or misery — just totally uplifting.”Asked by a fan if the group has been affected by the commercial success of “Final Straw,” Lightbody replied, “We were doing it for nearly 10 years without success so I guess it’s not very important to us. [But] we’d love it if lots of people heard this though, as I know it’s our best stuff.”