Biffy Clyro - Singles 2001-2005

  by Adrian Huggins

published: 7 / 8 / 2008

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Review

In the past year and a half Scottish alt. rock outfit Biffy Clyro have been catapulted with the release of their album ‘Puzzle’into the wider public's conscience.It has taken them from being one of the best loved bands on the underground circuit to being one of the biggest groups in Britain. What is a grave act of neglect, however, is the fact that it’s taken until the last eighteen months for them to start really getting the recognition they deserve. They had released three other albums before ‘Puzzle’, and ‘Singles 2001-2005’ is an assortment of the best bits of those. As many other journalist types have pointed out, the hardcore Biffy fans will already have all of these, and the newer ones will probably not be into their earlier and arguably heavier material. If nothing else it has, however, satisfied my needs! Somehow I missed the boat on them and have spent the last year and half asking all my musically like minded friends why nobody made more of an effort to get me to listen to them because they are superb. They are comparable to every decent alternative, heavy, forward thinking band over the past 15 years! They have a perfect blend of heavy riffs and chopping and changing drums beats to interest the more adventurous music fan, but they have an incredible knack for slipping in memorable choruses all the way through. The best way I could describe them to someone who isn’t familiar with them as combining the heaviest parts of the Foo Fighters with the most melodic elements of Thrice. I for one, therefore. don’t care why this album was released. Many will say it is merely a record company cash in, but frankly if this helps get the band a bit more security then so be it. For a band that has spent years trawling every crap venue the UK has to offer I think they deserve it. They were out on the road living in a van before the View were old enough to choose which jeans they wanted to wear, let alone how long for. They are a model band in my opinion. They have worked so hard for their success and this album is a testament to all those bands who really put it out there and work hard for it. I love everything about this band. To me Biffy Clyro embody everything that is great about a decent rock band. They experiment all the way, but they have a raw energy and are not afraid to crank up the guitars. They’re not and never have been riding any other trends. They’ve stuck at it and grown and grown along the way. None of the songs on this compilation could be picked out as sounding like they came from one year or the other. The songs from the beginning of their career such as ‘Justboy’ and ‘57’ stand easily alongside the latter ones. The progression here is very subtle but is definitely there. It is interesting to see that they always were pushing the limits, but with songs like ‘Questions and Answers’ and ‘My Recovery’ singer/guitarist Simon Neil has also managed slot in beautiful choruses alongside bruising riffs that sometimes seem to come out of absolutely nowhere. I wonder if the Johnston brothers, Ben and James, who make up the rhythm section, use some sort of twin telepathy in order to come up with all the time changes they use that keep you guessing all the way. ‘Glitter and Trauma’ is one of the best songs I’ve heard in years with it’s almost dance-like build up. In fairness, however, every song on this album is worth mentioning. Biffy Clyro are better than everything out there right now. If there is anyone who wants to try and convince me that there’s a better British rock band out there, I would actually kick you in the head in if their army of fans didn’t get there first.

Track Listing:-

1 27
2 Justboy
3 57
4 Joy.Discovery.Invention
5 Toys Toys Toys Choke, Toys Toys Toys (edit)
6 The Ideal Height (Single Edit)
7 Questions and Answers
8 Eradicate the Doubt
9 There's No Such Thing As a Jaggy Snake
10 Glitter And Trauma (Single Edit)
11 My Recovery Injection (Single Edit)
12 Only One Word Comes to Mind (Edit)