Biffy Clyro – Only Revolutions
I’ve had a very love/hate relationship with Biffy Clyro. Some albums have impressed me hugely like the breathtakingly loud and complex (in places) Infinity Land, whilst some have just left me feeling cold like their most recent effort, Puzzle. Only Revolutions is the band’s fifth album and quite possibly their bid for the big time. In the last few years they’ve established a dedicated fanbase and by that alone they’re already comfortable selling out venues like Brixton Academy. This LP should be the one that takes them further along the career ladder and into the arenas and megadomes of the UK.
Only Revolutions seems to have found the ideal balance of angsty, aggressive, pounding hard rock songs with newer and more confident sounds and it is this fact that underpins why it’s so enjoyable. It also seems far more unified and far more optimistic than Puzzle and it clearly shows. The band have added several more orchestra stabs (arranged by David Campbell) and much more brass to make it brasher and more exaggerative than previous efforts. There’s not much to shout about lyrically (and some of Simon Neil’s themes get boring very quickly) but given the breath and scope of the music it seems easily forgivable in this case when the album is as cohesive as Infinity Land was.
Even though most of the album has many layers of orchestra and brass, the main thing is that Biffy Clyro still know how to rock. That Golden Rule is an exhilarating mix of stabbed strings and crushing guitars, Bubbles is one of their more inventive melodic songs, and there are songs like Booooom, Blast & Ruin and Cloud Of Stink, which have terrible titles but are actually pretty damn good. In general, this is another step in the right generation for the Ayrshire three-piece and it’s hard to not be swept up in the ambitious nature of Only Revolutions. It will also cement their status as one of the country’s best rock bands at present.
RATING – 4/5
Like this? Try these!
Posted on November 12th, 2009 by Max
Filed under: Albums, Reviews
Leave a Reply