Artist: Biffy Clyro
Label: Warner Bros. Records
Release: 2016
Runtime: 38:57
Rating: 3/5
Hard to believe that in these days, when a lot of musical soup gets reheated and old-school bands like ACDC, Aerosmith, Guns’ n’ Roses and the like rule the roost, a relatively young band from Ireland called Biffy Clyro can climb all the way to the top. The group already made a name for itself with albums like Opposite, Only Revolution and Puzzle. All three charted very high on the UK albums chart. After a two-year break since the last one, Opposite, the boys marched back into the studio and recorded “Ellipsis”. There’s no doubt anymore that they’re one of the hottest bands on the planet. “Ellipsis” is an album that jumped straight to the top of the UK chart. The boys can also brag that in 2017 they’ll step on stage as one of the main headliners of the Download festival.
It’s not an overly long album, lasting just under 40 minutes, which makes a certain kind of sense, since its predecessor came out on two whole CDs and ran 77 minutes and 45 seconds. The cover shows a nude of all three band members on a white background, which is undoubtedly a good move for grabbing the attention of the female audience.
It kicks off with the first single, presented to the world before the record came out, titled The Wolfs Of Winter. The listener immediately gets a dose of the mighty sound this band is capable of. The sound is superbly polished, shocking and simply perfect. A bit too perfect, even. For all its complexity, the track is very listenable. You get the feeling the band is going to say everything it has to say right here. It’s made up of lots of different moods and riffs. The message of the lyrics themselves feels a little »far-fetched«, since in the past we got much better metaphors from Simon Neil. After the song comes a melody that flows nicely. In the next one, Friends And Enemie, the »lyric-smith« finds his footing a bit more, but still doesn’t fully convince. The first hints creep in, though, that the new album might lean more toward pop. The track has a relatively boring foundation, but the sound still delivers.
Next up is Animal Style. Probably the best track on the album, showing Biffy in their true light, and you slowly start to get some hope for the rest of the listen. The rawness of the Fender Stratocaster guitars ties in well with the theme of naughty boys. You could say the sound and the picture match perfectly. One of the best songs of recent years. Then comes an unexpected stop. That’s Re-arrange. Ladies and gentlemen, this is probably the best example of how to make a truly excellent track with minimalism. Even though the lyrics are direct, nothing bothers you. Hypnotically, we forget everything we’ve heard so far. The song deserves every star going, because it’s got just the right measure of everything, and I’m sure the girls will agree with me. It seems like the album is going to get better with every track, but then Herex and Medicine change everything. Half ballads, half not. Sure, some parts of the songs hint that things might finally open up, but sadly we never get to the payoff. Then we’re in for another attempt at a punchier sound with On a Bang, which is simply not good enough to fix the taste the previous ones left. Maybe also because of the somewhat botched wordplay. You get the feeling the album was written a bit under duress, since that sense of weak metaphors keeps hanging around. Things only get worse with the song Small Wishes. There’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a great song for, say, The Proclaimers, but not for a band of the caliber of Biffy Fuckin’ Clyro. It starts off like a Christmas song, but sadly the »jingle-jangling« is used for some other purpose.
By now we can barely wait for the album to be over, and here comes Howl. In my humble opinion, one of four tracks worth listening to, and it’s truly top quality in every respect. You wonder how everything else could turn out so weak. Did Simon really put all his energy into a handful of songs on the album and leave the rest in the lurch? Howl has great lyrics, a fresh sound and inventive vocal lines. Especially the backing vocal lines. Bravo, boys!
Next up is the dreamy People, which the listener doesn’t even feel like bothering to listen to. Don’t Won’t Can’t is then one of the album’s last hopes. A so-so track with a melody that gets under your skin but sadly doesn’t convince with its structure at all.
Next comes some experimenting in In The Name Of Wee Man. Solid! Plenty of people will say this one is worth a listen too, but as a listener it confuses me too much. The chorus draws you in nicely and raises the hairs on your neck. The structure feels odd, with lots of moods woven together, just like in the first track, The Wolfs Of Winter. Back then that didn’t bother me. Maybe we just have a bad aftertaste from the whole album.
Biffy Clyro – Wolves of Winter (official video):
Lineup
Simon Neil – vocals, guitar
James Johnston – bass guitar, backing vocals
Ben Johnston – drums, percussion, backing vocals
Production
Biffy Clyro & Rich Costey
Tracklist
1. Wolves of Winter
2. Friends and Enemies
3. Animal Style
4. Re-Arrange
5. Herex
6. Medicine
7. Flammable
8. On a Bang
9. Small Wishes
10. Howl
11. People
