In a way i believe this review will tie together to conflicting arguments of previous reviews.
4 times over the past 4 years i've stood in a crowd of hairy weirdos chanting the Joy.Discovery.Invention, or screaming the lyrics to Justboy- there's nothing quite like being surrounded by 1,500 like minded people singing in unison "i am hoping through the dark clouds, lights shall break and bring out bright skies"- anyone who's been there will know what i mean. Beautiful and uplifting.
And whilst the Biffy that i fell in love with would have gotten me laughed at by the same people who you'll find bopping along to this track nowadays, i don't begrudge them their success. They're an astonishingly hard-working band, didn't they play over 150 shows in one year a few years ago? And so they deserve every success.
I'm not going to cry that they've changed- you have to change or else you get repetitious. The White Stripes became mainstream and i still love them. What both bands have managed to do is retain enough of what kept them so very very special.
So is this song good?
Oh yeah it is.
It doesn't need 7/8 bridges or egyptian scales to be a good song.
I remember standing in line at a show before Puzzle came out and we were all very nervous about the new songs, after we'd heard they were gonna be a lot more radio-friendly. I tell you no-one went home disappointed with the preview of the songs we had that night.
This is an awesome song; succinct, concise, emotional- and a lovely evolutionary step towards the recognition that a band that has given be such enjoyment over the past deserves.
It's so blatantly Biffy- something that no-one else can pull off, but it can also hook my sister- a sugary pop fan.
Don't hit on it cos it's not their old stuff. I wouldn't want their old stuff again- i've moved on, the world's moved on. We're all well over half a decade older now, and it's time to hand the torch down to some younger chaps. I'm dead happy that Biffy never got stuck in a creative rut, or treading water in the minor leagues.
