Biffy Clyro
Balance, Not Symmetry (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

“Ellipsis”, the seventh studio album released in 2016, has definitively confirmed Biffy Clyro as one of the most prominent bands in the alternative rock scene.

Precisely for this reason, an operation like this “Balance, Not Symmetry” is even more surprising; not so much for the idea itself, since releasing a film soundtrack is an entirely legitimate operation, but more so for the methods chosen for its release. The film in question shares its title with this new work by the Scottish band, is directed by Jamie Adams (with a screenplay written by Simon Neill, the band’s leader) and will debut on June 23 at the Edinburgh Film Festival, while the album was surprise-released digitally at the end of May (with a vinyl release scheduled for the end of July).

The soundtrack in question is a generous opus composed of as many as seventeen unreleased tracks that freely traverse the most varied atmospheres: the opportunity to compose with complete freedom, free from particular constraints and being able to make use of the “spaces” that a soundtrack can offer, has given Neill and his bandmates the strength to dare even more. Hence, the album opens with a soft landing, presenting the first single and title track (which immediately attacks, reprising the sound of the early Biffy - the pre-stadium ones - before shifting into a splendid stadium rock opening in the refrain), then begins to explore with absolute freedom, among high-class pop rock (“All Singing And All Dancing”), adventurous instrumental sketches (“Navy Blue”), and synthetic delicacies that explode into splendid abrasiveness (“Colour Wheel,” amazing).

Elsewhere, Neill indulges in refined authorial flashes that could hide soloist ambitions of a first-rate singer-songwriter, as in the case of “Adored” and “Different Kind Of Love,” where the latter, however, always betrays a strong connection to the group's past (see “God & Satan”). The group's past that returns forcefully in episodes like “Tunnels And Trees,” almost an outtake from “Only Revolutions,” and “Touch,” a potential heir to the masterpiece known as “Many Of Horror.”

A rich and delightful “appetizer” (an understatement), this “Balance…”; awaiting with confidence the upcoming film and, above all, the new “title” album that will be released shortly, Biffy Clyro confirm themselves to be in enviable shape.

Best track: Colour Wheel