•
Rating: One of the most beautiful albums released this year comes from the splendid Scotland, and it's this "Only Revolutions" by Biffy Clyro.
The signs of a definitive consecration were all there in the previous (and equally splendid) "Puzzle", even though a certain darkness (due to a serious bereavement that struck the singer Simon Neil) and a fair amount of inconsistency - to be honest, not too marked - slightly marred the overall picture.
These flaws have been almost entirely removed this time: Biffy continues to do what they please (thank goodness), but this time the result is surprisingly coherent and homogeneous, much more so than the fortunate predecessor. It could be the credit of the more "prudent" production by Garth Richardson this time, or a greater attention in arranging by the band (the string sessions by David Campbell are splendid), but the fact is that you joyfully leap from the power pop of "The Captain" to the post-grunge of "Booooom, Blast & Ruin" and "Cloud Of Stink", from the rock (tinged with prog towards the end) of the wonderful "That Golden Rule" to the well-suited collaboration with Josh Homme in the Strokes/Queens Of The Stone Age hybrid "Bubbles".
Even the ballads convince and do not bore at all, with special attention given to a small gem like "God & Satan", truly perfect from start to finish.
The real masterpiece of the album, however, is placed in the middle of the tracklist, as if it were the beating heart, the soul: "Mountains", already released last year as a "stand-alone" single, leaves you speechless for its intensity of execution and perfection in songwriting. A true rough diamond that perfectly represents in its brilliance a band in a full state of creative grace.
Fortunately, Biffy continues to churn out great music and to demonstrate remarkable solidity; they fully deserve, by now, the status of a solid certainty in the British music scene.
Key Tracks: "That Golden Rule", "God & Satan", "Mountains".
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 The Captain (03:43)
Angels fall to the floor
Like they would if I was Captain
Silver children, she roared
I'm not the son of God
Somebody help me sing
Can anybody hear me?
Liars and lovers combine tonight
We're gonna make a scene
Somebody help me sing, whoa
Somebody help me sing, whoa
Help me be captain of our crippled disguises
I won't show what's underneath
It's time for surprises
I can't climb up your ladder
I can't ride your horse
I've swallowed half an hourglass
So now the landscape is swollen up
I gave birth to a fire
It's like its features were burning
I'm in control
I am the son of God
Somebody help me sing
Can anybody hear me?
Line up your soldiers one final time
We're gonna have a ball
Somebody help me sing, whoa
Somebody help me sing, whoa
Help me be captain of our crippled disguises
I won't show what's underneath
It's time for surprises
I can't climb up your ladder
I can't ride your horse
I've swallowed half an hourglass
So now the landscape is swollen up
Let's lock death away...
Loading comments slowly
