 | Tracklist:
1. The Captain
2. That Golden Rule
3. Bubbles
4. God & Satan
5. Born On A Horse
6. Mountains
7. Shock Shock
8. Many Of Horror
9. Booooom, Blast & Ruin
10. Cloud Of Stink
11. Know Your Quarry
12. Whorses
Release Date: 2009 | |
| | other reviews | Benjamin Fyffe (4)
Not 'Puzzle Part 2' and not as mainstreams as some people will have you think.... | turnip90210 (1.5)
Slick, commercial muzak for slick, commercial listeners, accidentally branded with the Biffy Clyro n... |
On 26 Lists
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| Summary: Pop-rock to roar from the top of the mountain. |
3 of 3 thought this review was well written
“For the record,” insists the sticker that adorns the cover of Biffy Clyro’s latest record, “they’re probably the best rock band in the UK.” The usual hype-gathering quote to throw on a new release, of course – yet its attribution to NME adds a truckload of salt. Let’s not forget there’s a new saviour of rock every three months to this publication. Still, if there’s any band worth hyping up, Biffy is certainly amongst the top. Developing a strong cult following in the first half of the decade, the second half has seen them make mainstream impact with the album Puzzle, in addition to support slots with everyone from Linkin Park to the Rolling Stones.
So are NME onto something here? The band’s confidence that emanates from their fifth album, Only Revolutions, would certainly suggest so. Fans dedicated to the band’s previous work may initially find discomfort with the sheen of the Hollywood production, but at the core of the record is the same old Biffy with a few more hooks thrown in for exceptionally good measure.
Perhaps the most noticeable new feature in the band’s sound is the more constant use of arrangements to emphasise various points of the record. With prolific composer David Campbell at the helm, Biffy take the exact right moments and throw them into the open air. Take the trumpets that signal the arrival of opening number "The Captain", for instance. You’d have tough argument on your hands were you to state there’s been a more triumphant-sounding moment in the band’s discography – the major-chord progression and 6/8 drum gallops aside, the horn section pierces the top of the song’s mix and embosses a glorious, soaring sound. The string sections that follow the final chorus of "That Golden Rule", additionally, fuel the fire of the song’s high-octane excitability and voracious energy, as the movements swell and consequently explode.
Campbell isn’t the defining factor of Only Revolutions, however. That title is still very much belonging to Simon Neil, the band’s vocalist and guitarist. His voice still maintains that quintessential Highland burr, refusing to sacrifice his motherland tongue to appear more accessible to a U.S. audience. His six-string work remains wonderfully catchy and versatile – "Shock Shock" roars out of the gates before slinking into an overdrive of power chords, while "Cloud of Stink" sees a thick-string grind clash with angular shimmying. Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme even pops in for a jam on "Bubbles", dropping his brooding guitar into the strangely-danceable album highlight.
The Johnston twins (James on bass, Ben on drums) continue to react amicably to Neil’s imagination and ambition with tight grooves, edgy movements and a backdrop that never feels forced or restrained. Even the quieter tracks like the folksy "God & Satan" (“I talk to God as much as I talk to Satan/’Cause I wanna hear both sides”) and the stirring "Know Your Quarry" (“Love is a shadow/In the brightness, it dies”) are kept appealing and engaging by the trio’s decade-odd-long intimacy and elaborate knowledge of one another’s musical movements.
Five albums into a wide-eyed and fruitful career, Only Revolutions is the sound of a band more than happy with where they are – both creatively and commercially. Keeping up this level of creative, powerful and outlandish melodic hard rock isn’t just going to keep the band’s head above water – from here, they could part the Red Sea if they wanted to.
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| Recent reviews by this author | | | |
Album Rating: 3.5
good stuff, man. Just checked out their myspace, pretty cool. Think I might get this.
| | | Album Rating: 4
Cheers Betty. Yeah, I think you'll dig this big time.
Digging: Kate Miller-Heidke - Nightflight | | |
this is on my 'to get' list, but then again, so is about a billion other things. I don't see it as a priority title yet though
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artist name made me laugh
Digging: -
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never liked these guys. There is just one element that really repulses me, but i can't identify it.
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This is a good review.
I listened to a stream of this, and it was alright. I wouldn't say they're rock's saviors like NME did though.
Digging: Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself Digging: Andrew Bird - Break It Yourself
| | | Album Rating: 4
Auldy where the fuck have you been
Tom you just hate the Scots
Fanks Observer
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Streetlight said it best:
I'm surprised Sputnik isn't ape-shit over this, this is the sort of mildly entertaining rock that alot of people here are into.
| | | Album Rating: 4
This is more than mildly entertaining.
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is it though?
| | | Album Rating: 4
Don't get all post-modern on me - yes, it is.
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I disagree
| | | Album Rating: 4
Well, fantastic. Review it...or at least rate it.
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only heard about 4-5 songs, I was talking more about Biffy Clyro as a whole
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I went on a little holiday to that place they call Europe. Did some sightseeing and study. Now I'm back, and broke. haha
| | | Album Rating: 4
Roach, listen to the whole thing.
Auldy, good one; good to have you back.
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Thanks man, its good to be back, good old sputnik!
now to write that you am i review? lol
| | | Album Rating: 3
Good review, album's nothing to get overly excited about though.
Digging: fun. - Some Nights | | | Album Rating: 4
OMG FREEKAZOID YOUR DIG
| | | Album Rating: 3
If I was a hardcore Biffy fan (ie since Blackened Sky) this album would probably end my love of them. But I don't have a problem with a more comercial sound, it definately suits them I think.
I just think this album is too much of a mixed bag to be truly great.
Digging: Tom Williams and The Boat - Teenage Blood Digging: Tom Williams and The Boat - Teenage Blood | | | |
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