Biffy Clyro: Puzzle
Tuesday, 05 Jun 2007 21:11
Biffy march on
14th Floor, out June 4th 2007.
In a nutshell…
Career-best from Scottish rockers
What's it all about?
On the fourth album from the incendiary Scots, the influence of producer Garth Richardson and legendary mixer Andy Wallace (of Nevermind fame) is instantly evident - this is an epic, grandstanding, world-beating record, laden with passion and intent, but still clinging to the raw power that's made them such a thrilling live act.
Though it gets off to a slightly stumbling start with the overblown strings of Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies, their biggest hit Saturday Superhouse is the real kick-off, channelling the Foo Fighters at their best. The jaunty Who's Got a Match seems flimsy until its sudden transformation into some kind of wonderful mix of Metallica, Jimmy Eat World and Nirvana, while As Dust Dances shows some beautifully tender touches before its behemoth of a climax. The irresistible A Whole Child Ago really should be a single, its angular Bloc Party-esque guitars superbly shielding a fist-pumping chorus and the album's high-point.
The emo roots that led Charlie Simpson to name his pet rabbit Biffy are evident in the verses of The Conversation Is..., but again, they maximise the song in a way that previous albums never did. If there's one criticism, it's that the intermittent soft piano lead-ins tend to disrupt the album's breathless pace, but they're pretty enough (and more importantly, sufficiently brief) to never be too great an irritant.
It's a surprising, exuberant record, full of ambition but never falling short, catchy and memorable but never poppy, emotional and heartfelt but never simpering. When a band manages to convert longstanding ambivalence into sudden adoration, there's no doubt that they're doing something very, very right. It owes a weighty debt to the Foo Fighters, but if you're going to borrow, do it from the best; imitation is, after all, the sincerest form of flattery.
Who's it by
The Ayrshire trio formed as teenagers in 1995, with Simon Neil fronting a rhythm section of the Johnson twins, James and Ben, with Glasgow label Electric Honey signing them up after the release of the excellently-named 'thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow' EP. It's instantly clear that this fourth album is their major label debut, so lush and complex are the production values, and it's such a marked success that the band's signature chant of "Mon the Biffy!" is sure to echo across the land. Famed for their wholly fanatical fanbase, (even though that's a tautology), the band are set to play this year's Glastonbury Festival, as well as being named among the support bands for the upcoming Muse concert at the new Wembley Stadium.
As an example…
"Then I see a darkness/You see the blinding light/Will Oldham's in the corner moaning /Can't you write your own lines" - Saturday Superhouse, as Simon Neil makes no bones about his lyrical debt to folk legend Bonnie Prince Billy
"But how was I to know/that in my mind I'm not so pure/Look into my eyes/You can see how many different people/You shone a light on my life/Now I'm just sentimental" - The brilliant Semi-Mental
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Unless something truly genre-defining emerges in the next year, an album of such depth should be justifiably awarded with countless nominations and an apparent ubiquity in top ten lists. Commercial success is a different proposition, but with Saturday Superhouse reaching #13 and forthcoming singles likely to gain significant radio exposure, there's every chance that Biffy Clyro could now make the leap into the big leagues. It wouldn't be undeserved.
What the others say
"Breath-taking, stunning, career-defining - they've developed, and, as if by magic, suddenly find themselves serious contenders for the title of Greatest Band In Britain."
- Mike Sterry, NME
"Puzzle is a masterpiece. There's a new name placed in front of a seat at the high table of UK bands and artists. KKKKK" - Kerrang!
So is it any good?
It's outstanding - while they've always hinted at potential greatness, the songs were also too dark, too ornate, to really dent the charts or convert their cult status into wide renown. With this album, they've suddenly leapfrogged from hardcore also-rans to stadium contenders - the amazing moment on Now I'm Everyone when a fairly throwaway melody becomes a unforgettable "this is the one, this is the one!" refrain typifies the entire LP.
Everything that was already great about the band - fantastic hooks, jaw-droppingly clever song structures, a very definite sense that they're a little odd - has been retained, but they've added grandeur, depth, and astonishing skill.
Frontman Simon Neil recently said "we just want to make records that people can listen to in 20 years and think they're good records, that's what we want to do; we want to be an important band" - congratulations; you've just become one.
10/10
Lewis Bazley
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