Review Summary: A young man's effort to pour his heart out in the most unconventional means he can think of. Lyrics that scream genius and accomplished guitar sounds, Biffy Clyro really produced the goods on this debut album. A must listen!
On a night of reminisce, I start with the review of this, the first of Biffy Clyro's now six albums. It is, at first listen, hard to understand the angle of which the Scottish trio are coming from; however with nothing more than a brief study of the lyrics and a second listen, it is, in retrospect, clear that this is one of the most unsung albums of the 21st century thus far. It ranks above introductory albums such as Arctic Monkey's 'Whatever People Say Thats What Im Not' and even the Kaiser Chief's 'Employment'. In fact, it is nothing short of any other; to date that must be said.
A soft yet brittle motif is the introduction we are given with 'Joy.Discovery.Invention'. Simon's crisp vocals then enter, harmoniously followed with the band uttering the line "Get up, get up, get over" along to to synonymous pre chorus. The chorus itself is a beautiful affair- to me it is clear that this is the introduction to the album with this chorus, not singly for its mention of the album title but rather of its clear introductory flavour, laying the initial paving stones for what is a gripping story that ensues. The finale of the song is semi-heavy, almost anthem like; very sing-a-long but clearly still personal to the band.
The drums play a large role in '27''s intro, along with a clean, jerky riff. "I still feel the pain in my heart" Simon murmurs as the song builds into a heavier second part. Often shouty, its clear why this is a fan favourite; as the song concludes we are re introduced to the beginning, slightly more heavy however. Ending on feedback, very cliché.
'Justboy' can sound messy from the untrained ear's view point. Yet it is possibly a contender for the albums best track. The feel of the first verse is a contrast to the feedback in the intro which is probably a continuation from the end of '27'. The chorus then positively screeches lyrics of young man's broken heart. We are given this again, until ending on an anthem-like outro as once again the trio collaborate their vocals, as they do so brilliantly.
The most oscillating track of the album is 'Kill the Old, Torture their Young'. "This will kill me" Simon whispers at the start, to then fly in with a dirty guitar sound. It then turns into a vocal affair, before another anthem like section. Clearly written by a young man, this has the most effort on a single track on the album; not matched by its quality. Wait a minute, its not over! The song ends with a minute long outro that ties together the song in its almost 7 minute entirety, a great song... after 3 or 4 listens.
I was never sure what "The Go Slow' was about. Nonetheless it is another contender for best track. Simon displays some of his best vocals in this track as well as some obscure lead guitar during the verse, where the bass could almost not be there. There really isn't much else to say on this one; it could have been more than it was despite of its musically perfect features. Again, still a great tune.
Taking a much softer route, we meet "Christopher's River', the best of the guitar playing (despite not sounding it) and the most heartfelt song on the album. Again we are given the three scotsmen singing together the simple lyrics "I'm not through", unclear to the public eye what these lyrics mean, I am convinced this has a strong link to all three members.
Musically perfect? Yes I am sure. "Convex Concave" is quite clearly the best track on the album, if not for this one, the titel would be wide open. We go from low to high back to low and then to huge high, with a driven guitar and heart throbbing vocals, nothing else need be said about this ABSOLUTE CHOOOOOON!!
Apparently '57' is related to '27'; the story goes that these are the number of the buses that Simon used to have sex with his (what was then recent ex girlfriend) on. Following on from that, this is your typical love song ripped apart and rebuilt by a mad scientist. It expels some rather obvious lyrics spread in an unobvious way, in fact, the lyrics are ironically about the song itself, or so I believe; it's a song that he wrote in an attempt to forget, yet he will never and can never- Don't judge, he was only 22 at the time.
It is with my utmost regret to inform you that the album does peak at '57' *insert sad face*. 'Hero Management' is lacklustre and 'Stress On The Sky' is the first sign of wear on the album. On the contrary, these seem to sandwich the hidden gem (or so I believe) that is 'Solution Devices'. It is mid 90's alternative rock at its best, yet its in the 00's and its more like prog rock! A line in the song that rhetorically asks "Who'd have ever thought you'd beg for death" is the peak of the track as a clean guitar is the silhouette to such lyrics.
'Scary Mary' may sound good to newcomers or radio listeners, however it is a sign of "lets try and get away with a what may seem like a slow, heart-warming, rock style love song". It is just a filler and should have been put in the middle of the album's listing or not put in at all. Simple.
Recommended track's
Justboy
57
Connvex Concave
The Go Slow
