Simon Neil

Week 39: Biffy Clyro-Futique

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Welcome to the review of Biffy Clyro’s tenth album, “Futique”. Astonishingly, the band have been around for thirty years. My introduction to them was way back in 2010, as I suspect is the case for the majority of us. The record is once again an album that’ll lend itself to a headliner at a festival like Download or their local TRNSMT as they look out to thousands on Glasgow Green. Not only that, but they also have their own tour in vast arenas like the Hydro. In a world that is frequently bleak, Biff shines a light with a record full of headbangers, momentarily taking us away from the gloom.


The record features 11 standard-sized songs. The opener, which many of you would have heard on their current tour, at festivals, and on the radio, ‘A Little Love’ delivers fierce energy over a positive message. The band have been quiet for four years, which is their longest lull to date. Many wondered if they would return after “The Myth of the Happily Ever After,” but instead, the band spent a period of reflection, dealing with personal issues, and James Johnston was unfortunately confined to his bed. Simon Neil and the Johnston brothers, James and Ben, bring this into a sharp focus on “Futique”, albeit mainly over the kind of rock we know them for. As with any album, there is the odd downtempo ballad thrown in.


What is interesting about ‘A Little Love’ is that, although it is unmistakably a Biff track, it has more of a pop element to their usual raw sound. Despite the cleaner sound, it does not detract from the fact that it boasts excellent lyricism and a catchy chorus that’ll be belted out when they perform it.


The band have come a long way since being teenagers plying their trade by learning Nirvana songs in a pokey garage. However, that spirit hasn’t been left behind, as evidenced in the second track, ‘Hunting Season’. A track that calls out anyone who tries to be a people-pleaser. The track reminds me of Muse, for their rebellion, and The Hives, for their confidence, but the band still maintains its identity—an anthem for those who wish not to conform and remain true to themselves.


’True Believer’ tells a story of being a band member and what it’s like returning to familiarity after a lengthy period. The individual in question is frontman Simon Neil, who realises that being in a band with the brothers is what he still wants to do. The production itself features xylophones and a more complex style of drumming.


Of course, as with every album, there is the obligatory ballad, and the band’s one is the aptly named ‘Goodbye’, where they bid farewell to their latest era, where James ended up bedridden through mental health, as mentioned earlier in the review. The track also addresses the bad habits of killing time while being in the band.

The track is followed by the more upbeat ‘Friendshipping’, where romantic and platonic relationships are at the heart of the matter. Of course, that is balanced by ‘A Thousand One’, where mistakes lead to the end of a relationship, and then another ray of sunshine enters with ’Two People in Love’. That one is self-explanatory.


This is Biffy in their domain, where they show confidence and are more than happy to share their life experiences, including their personal struggles. The record does not have the best start, but that is more a result of the production rather than the exemplary songwriting.

However, as usual, they return to form as the album progresses. What is refreshing about ‘Futique’ is that Biffy Clyro have not phoned it in to get money out of the fans, but rather have thought it all through and released a record that is more than a match for their back catalogue.


Song recommendations: ‘Hunting Season’, ‘Two People in Love’, ‘True Believer’

9/10

Week 10: Architects- For Those that Wish to Exist

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I have to concede that when I heard Architects were number one, I was expecting the Garage collective who released the iconic Garage club classic “Body Groove” back in 2000 featuring vocals by Nana (Nay-Nay is how it is pronounced, by the way.) However, I ended up listening to a band that sounds very much like their fellow English counterparts, Bring Me the Horizon, and vocalist Sam Carter sounds precisely like Oli Sykes. Well, this is the Brighton outfit’s ninth album and the second since their founder and leader, Tom Searle, tragically passed away in 2016. 

I’m not going to say from what because I hate the disease in question. Tom Middleton was his replacement, and they pushed on to release “Holy Hell” in 2018. It got a warm reception, considering the absence of Tom Searle. Some say they shouldn’t have continued, but they did, and on this record, it is shown why that was the correct decision. The album is full of rage, anger, passion, and emotion. The record contains many issues, including politics, lasting under an hour. The tracks range from “An Ordinary Extinction” on climate change to “Discourse is Dead” on politics, songs that address the band’s departure from the pre-Holy Hell days and their new standing in the music sphere by playing out at arenas.

There is also room to show their new standing with collaborations from Mike Kerr of another Brighton act, Royal Blood, and Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro. Just like Oli Sykes, Sam Carter has remained steadfast with his vocals, except this time, Sam is doing it on tracks ready to ring out across the arena air and become anthems, which I am sure they will be.

The band is not afraid to do a bit of noodling on the record, and that can be found on “Dead Butterflies” for a better example of them being experimental. I enjoyed “Dying is Absolutely Safe” above all of them because it has two sides to a coin. The song talks about how our world is such a chaotic state, but when strings come in, there is a sense of a brighter day to come out of the ashes of the chaos.

 It’s also quite apt for the band at present because they have been in turmoil since losing their original leader, but from that adversity, the band has stayed together and got stronger as the journey continues. Tom Searle will be admiring that character from wherever he may be. However, from a purist’s point of view, this album is a disappointment because the band has lost their edge and sounds too generic now. That’s the impression I got when conversing with a fan of theirs. I recommend it if you have not heard of them or Bring Me the Horizon. You’ll discover new music and a band you may well like.

Song recommendations: “Dying is Absolutely Safe”, “Discourse is Dead”, “Dead Butterflies”

7/10

Week Thirty-Four: Biffy Clyro- a Celebration of Endings

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Upon doing my research, I was astonished to discover that the band from Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, has been around since 1995, with their debut album “Blackened Sky” released in 2002. I didn’t know of them when the 2008 single “Mountains” was their first to break into the top ten of the singles chart. I only started to know of them after their 2009 album “Only Revolutions” and singles called “Many of Horror” and “the Captain”. Indeed, I was taking my mind off a particular personal matter and helping out a mate DJing and going clubbing, and Biffy Clyro was played almost anywhere I went back in 2010. They have constantly reminded me of A Day to Remember and Alkaline Trio, albeit with an American sound mixed with original Scottish vocals. Since then, their stock has risen, and they are regulars on the festival scene.

This is their ninth studio album, and they were only well-known in the mainstream after 2008. When you listen to this record, you can recognise straight away that you are listening to Biffy, albeit they have given new hope to budding musicians (Especially guitarists and guitar bands.) to show that guitar music is still alive and, therefore, will encourage people to play the instrument still. They have decided to go experimental, too, which is always a good idea for music; it’s always good to freshen up your ideas and sounds. “Celebration” is a testament to that. I never have and never will believe that guitar-based music is dead. From what I see and hear upon discovering new music, it tells a very different story to what the critics have you believe.

“North of No South” opens the album and is gargantuan in sound. It starts with a ferocious tempo that, for the majority of the record, features heavily with crashing drums, rapid guitar riffs, dramatic orchestral sounds, and angelic choirs. “The Champ” is the only reflective moment with this fable of a relationship falling apart wrapped around a piano ballad, and “Space”, which you can see is the moment the phones are held aloft when the band finally get to tour this album to an audience in packed out arenas, stadiums, and festivals.

As the album ends, we enter “Cop Syrup”, which is six minutes and the longest track on the record, with just seventeen seconds of the hidden track “Less is More”, where Simon Neil sings a bit before the song ends. The first six minutes felt like listening to Tame Impala with its psychedelic and experimental feel. If I didn’t know I was listening to Biffy, I would think it was Tame Impala playing an instrumental track. It’s quite refreshing to hear that material by Biffy because it isn’t what they are known for and might indicate the next project.

Song recommendations: “North of No South”, “Celebration”, “Cop Syrup”

8/10