It was only recently that people started giving Biffy Clyro the attention that they truly deserve. The seemingly sudden rise in media interest would give the impression that they have become successful off the strength of one album, or even one single. However, the bearded trio from Ayrshire, Scotland have actually been working very hard for the last twelve years. For most of those twelve years they have pretty much fallen off the radar of most music fans thanks to a lack of media coverage. Back then, if you asked the average man on the street who Biffy Clyro were, he would have no idea; he probably wouldn’t take you seriously. Not with a name like
that. Things are very different now though. I know very well who Biffy Clyro are; you know who Biffy Clyro are; the average man on the street probably knows who they are; even your mum has probably heard of them somewhere. Shortly before their meteoric rise in fame, Biffy Clyro released this album, Infinity Land. It followed the trend of their previous albums. Not necessarily genre or style-wise, but in quality wise. This is an outstanding album!
The band are essentially a mainstream rock band - with the word ‘mainstream’ used very loosely. They have an almost quirky nature about them and this album shows them completely embracing this side of their music. It is as if at times they are deliberately trying to do the unexpected. Of course this sets them apart from other bands that could be described as mainstream rock. Miles apart. You are met with the unexpected straight away with the pulsating, dance-driven intro to
‘Glitter and Trauma’. It builds and builds until Simon Neil plays the first of many intricate guitar parts on the album. There are many intricacies found throughout the track and instead of sounding weak and unnecessary they work together to sound very strong indeed. Discordant, unusual guitar parts are found in many tracks here, notably in
‘The Kids From Kibble and The Fist of Light’. The weird musicianship does nothing to detract from the quality of the song (in fact it boosts it) or the catchiness of the song. There are strange phrasings dotted throughout, as well as strange texture changes. There is even a relaxing saxophone solo! The next track features more saxophone work, only this time it is more blasting than laid-back. This makes for a lively intro to the track, but soon it becomes very sombre and subdued before going into another lively section.
While there are many weird parts scattered throughout, and in some cases such as
‘Pause It and Turn It Up’ whole songs that are weird, and eerie (there is something disturbing about their native bagpipes) in places; they are balanced by more ‘traditional’ sections. Take the oddly titled
‘There’s No Such Thing As a Jaggy Snake’ – starting out with a serpentine riff and inhuman, yet audible screaming –
Look Up! C-C-C-Captain Christ says “You think too much about the wrong thing!”- it seems like a very odd, yet enjoyable song and then changes into a more standard rock song. However, this departure into more normal rock is short lived as it changes into a 5/8 section featuring complex drum patterns. The biggest departure from the tangled, sprawling mess of complicated rock is the piano-led
‘The Atrocity’. It is very soothing and lullaby-like in its gentle nature. Featuring a piano, gentle guitar strumming and even a hypnotic xylophone with no percussion save for very light use of a tambourine it has a very thin texture. It is different to most of the songs here as they are more aggressive, but with a great sense of melody, while it is one of a few gentle tracks including the last on the album and
‘There’s No Such Man As A Crasp’, which acts as a precursor to
‘…Jaggy Snake’.
While Biffy Clyro remained underrated by the masses for a long time, there is a perfectly good valid reason for this – their music was simply not suited for the mainstream. Infinity Land shows this very clearly – this is not your ordinary ‘mainstream rock’. Biffy Clyro are quirky and unusual and at times it even seems that they are trying to do the unexpected, and of course, they are succeeding. Their musical peculiarities are all performed extremely well with enough pop-rock sensibilities to prevent it from sounding unnecessary. Although at this time they weren’t on too many people’s radars, so to speak, they had a very loyal, devoted fanbase that were eager to hear Infinity Land. They will have most definitely been impressed. The many who will have only picked up this album only because of the runaway success that is last album Puzzle will have been impressed by Infinity Land. This has nothing to do with hype, because there was none, or at least very little, surrounding this album. It is because Infinity Land is simply an excellent album.
