Biffy Clyro
Puzzle

THE REVIEW

Three years after their last studio release ("Infinity Land"), Biffy Clyro returns in June 2007 with a new work, "Puzzle."

Released in Great Britain under the 14th Floor label (a branch of Warner), in the United States, it came out a couple of months later via Roadrunner. Biffy chose the thirteen tracks that make up the album from a list of about 40 songs, recorded everything between Vancouver and Gibsons, Canada; the mixing, however, was done by Andy Wallace in New York. The production was entrusted to Garth Richardson (Rage Against The Machine, Nickelback, Melvins, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Skunk Anansie, Testament), supported by the band itself.

"Puzzle" is the album that marked the band's definitive breakthrough in the British charts, with a second place in its release week and six singles extracted. It is not, however, a random event: "Puzzle" is, in fact, the "mainstream" album par excellence for Biffy. If in the previous chapters, the band wielded a wild rock that wisely blends prog and grunge elements, this time everything is polished and covered with a smooth and catchy coating that sometimes pays off, but sporadically raises some doubts.

One of the positive aspects of this album is undoubtedly the great variety of influences well absorbed by the band: from the stoner of the first splendid single "Semi-Mental" to the less "trippy" Queens Of The Stone Age of "Who's Got A Match?", passing through a "Saturday Superhouse" that would even jolt the joy of the shy Rivers Cuomo. The more "playful" attitude of previous Biffy records is felt in the absolutely schizoid five minutes of "Living Is A Problem Because Everybody Dies" (which evokes Cobain and friends even in the title) or in the six-string smacks of "9/15ths", in addition to a "The Conversation Is..." that succumbs to the temptation of clashing a pleasant power pop plot with echoes of progressive scattered here and there.

It's unfortunate, however, when Neil and company unleash "a bolt from the blue" "Folding Stars", a sappy ballad that wouldn't fit in a Foo Fighters record (if we talk about ballads, the guitar progressions of the beautiful "As Dust Dances" are much better), or display a rather unusual The Cribs-style intro ("Now I'm Everyone"). The U2 resurrection in "Love Has A Diameter" also leaves one puzzled.

Nonetheless, Neil's performance at the microphone is excellent, truly at ease riding the sound textures created by the band, despite a sound cleanliness not found in the previous works of the Scottish combo.

"Puzzle" is still a great album, ultimately far from the trends dictated by the English press and featuring many beautiful and still engaging tracks. A nice reality, these Biffy Clyro, amid a sea of proposals from across the channel that tend to resemble each other too much.

Key Tracks: "Living Is A Problem Because Everybody Dies", "As Dust Dances", "Semi-Mental", "9/15ths";