Biffy Clyro
Only Revolutions

Release Date: 2009 | Tracklist

The release of 'That Golden Rule' as the first official single from 'Only Revolutions' saw some long-term Biffy Clyro fans rejoicing. They felt that the band's 2007 breakthrough record 'Puzzle' had been too mainstream and abandoned many of the intricacies of the band that their small, devoted army of fans had fallen in love with on an album such as 2003's 'The Vertigo Of Bliss'. 'That Golden Rule' however was far more like their old style with bonecrushingly heavy riffs in bizarre time signatures creating something akin to what Nirvana may have sounded like if they had gone prog.

The release of the second official single, 'The Captain', and the announcement of a track listing including the 2008's massive top 5, supposedly stand alone, single 'Mountains' made some of these same long-term fans turn their back on the band once more. 'The Captain' had been, in its original incarnation as the epic 'Help Me Become Captain', a worthy successor to previous Biffy monster tracks such as 'Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys' or 'Glitter And Trauma'. However the version released as a single was poppy with horns of all things leading the song along with the massive sing-a-long line of "Somebody help me sing". However what those who just wanted Biffy to release an album like their first three failed to accept is that it was still a good song, if maybe a little overblown. 'Mountains' is also as fine an anthem now as it was on its release and does not sound at all out of place on 'Only Revolutions' which, for all its faults, is actually a fine album in the Biffy tradition.

Perhaps the thing most noticeable when first listening to the album as a whole is that it has, to put it bluntly, no real flow. The record is very much a collection of songs rather than an album of continuous tracks that sound like they should be played in a specific order. Some of the songs are true works of genius with 'Bubbles' and 'Cloud Of Stink' just as worthy of praise as 'That Golden Rule'. 'Bubbles' climaxes with a wonderful Josh Homme guitar solo while the latter is led by wonderful straining falsetto vocals by Biffy frontman Simon Neil and frantic drumming from Ben Johnston. The acoustic 'God & Satan' meanwhile features some of Neil's simplest lyrics to date but also some of his most effective with pearls such as "I'm not being cynical / There are no miracles and this is no miraculous life" standing out on first listen.

Perhaps the biggest surprise on the album however is the funky, yes you read that right funky, 'Born On A Horse'. Led by synth from bassist James Johnston and lines such as "I pronounce it aluminium because there's an i next to the u and the m" and "I've never had a lover who's my sister or my brother before" this is a complete departure from anything Biffy Clyro have ever put on an album before. It may not be the strongest track on the record but it is certainly the most fun to listen to. Another departure comes towards the end of the earlier seemingly standard Biffy song 'Shock Shock'. A noise suddenly comes into the song that sounds very much like an unused part of the original Star Trek theme tune (I think it's a theramin but cannot be sure). The introduction of 'Know Your Quarry' meanwhile fools me for one into believing I've actually started listening to 'Tubular Bells' instead.

The focus on this album is definitely on the songs themselves. Biffy have returned an album full of ideas but ideas contained within the standard definition of the rock, or even pop dare I say it, song. Whereas in the past ideas were pushed much further afield Biffy have elected to focus more on songwriting than ever before and this has resulted in an album that is braver than many realise. It would have been very easy for Biffy to write an album that was similar to 'Puzzle' in terms of theme and Foo Fighters esque hard rock sound. Instead they have chosen to include songs that are hopeful and use varied and interesting instrumentation and styles new to the band. Sure there are faults, the main one for me being GGGarth Richardson's production which gives the guitars less of a raw crunch and Si's vocals less of the yearning that I loved so much about them on the likes of '57'. There is also the miss that is 'Booooom, Blast & Ruin' which, although no longer sounding as terrible as I thought it did on first listen is far too pedestrian and Fall Out Boy sounding for a unique British band such as Biffy.

If those who are queuing up to dismiss this album give it a proper listen they might be surprised. 'Only Revolutions' is something other than it may appear on first listen, perhaps summed up best by closing track 'Whorses' where Si sings how "It looked like rain yet it felt like snow". Not a classic album but a very good one to say the least.

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3.6 great

Rank: #0 for 2009