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Product Description
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It’s been a less than Roman trail up to this point for long-haul, stubbly Scot trio Biffy Clyro. From the proto-grunge of their debut, through gathering melodic grandeur, progressive cross-genre experimentalism, brief indie accessibility and some truly heavy songwriting, to say they’ve surpassed expectations along the way is an understatement as large as the chasm between their original potential and subsequent accomplishment. They had doggedness and resilience from the off, they were a roughly musical Glasgow-kiss that left a mark and no doubt one or two fractures, but as persuasive as they might have been the Biffy Clyro of then could never have written the Queen vs. Fall Out Boy orchestral future-emo audaciousness of "Living Is a Problem Because Everyone Dies". That they did now should give Muse and Panic at the Disco cause for concern. What they’ve done with Puzzle then that they haven’t exactly done before is marry their experimental bent with their swelling urge for accessibility, brilliantly. Acoustic "Machines" and rocketing "Saturday Superhouse" could be from the respective flip-sides of the Foo Fighters’ double album, In Your Honour, only with that glint in the eye that long since evaded Grohl’s mob. Hell, they even go a touch post-punk with bells on for a flash on "A Whole Child Ago". Is there nothing they won’t turn their hands to and wring dry without breaking a sweat? Still waiting to find it. - - James Berry
Review
Tracks like 'Saturday Superhouse' race along efficiently enough. But it feels like the band are more comfortable with more melodic, lyrical moods than angst ridden post-Nirvana rock. The current single 'Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies' and '9/15ths' feature tinny gothic choirs and Psycho-style strings, but I'm not convinced anything really nasty is going to happen.
Much better is the more subtle, rumbling, melodic pleasure of 'As Dust Dances' which is pretty gorgeous and ends with the first of two lovely piano interludes. Biffy Clyro's heart lies in big, lyrical, sincere, stirring music. On the metal map they're closer to U2 than Metallica.
The range of ideas is impressive. Prog fans will enjoy the end of 'Now I'm Everyone' where the tricky time signature and lush harmonies end up sounding like Yes. 'Who's Got A Match' is a sing along stomper, and beefy riffs abound on 'Semi-Mental' and 'Get F****d Stud'.
The puzzle is whether this record is too tasteful to live up to their world beating ambitions. The over clean production filters out dirt or sweat so it sometimes feels hard to get involved.
The stand out track 'Folding Stars' breaks through that barrier and is really thrilling. Hundreds of years ago, a man sang a song to a woman he couldn't have or couldn't hold. All men have been singing that song ever since, at one time or another, and 'Folding Stars' is that song. If all of Puzzle was as good as this, Biffy Clyro would be not be taking on the world, they'd have conquered it. --Nick Reynolds
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Customer Reviews
I think that peoples main problem is that they have become popular, they get played on the radio a lot and are not this little underground cult band anymore, there are some dodgy songs on this album but every album has one or two ("folding stars" comes to mind). It is also a little softer than I would have personally hoped for but it is also as catchy as herpes, the lyrics at certain points are weak but at other times are amazing.
The start of "Living is a problem..." is slightly comical but its also unexpected (and we wouldn't want a band to keep churning our the expected) and the song feels so good when it explodes it feels so so good. "Machines" is incredibly moving with incredibly touching lyrics, especially if you have been through a similar experience to Simon Neill. "Who's got a Match?" is a pure pop song, but oh what a pop song.
This album has a lot to offer to people new to Biffy Clyro, fans of the indie genre, fans of rock music, fans of metal (who have a softer inside) but you do need to come into it with an open mind. The big problem for the Biffy fans who hate it is they are trying something new, but wouldn't life be boring if everyone always did the same thing.
Fast-forward to August 2007 - and, painfully, I must admit that the same cannot be said of their eagerly-anticipated fourth album, 'Puzzle'. It seems I am not alone in predicting this album would 'happen' at some point. After all, the group had said they were after a 'pop' album - relinquishing the 'screaming' from previous work - in favour of sheening production.
le Biff have always maintained that they try to do something "different" with each album - and in that sense - it cannot be argued that 'Puzzle' is different from all their other albums. That does not mean that it is better - quite the opposite in my view.
BUT - let's put things in perspective - this IS a good album - if you give this album 1 star then surely you must hate it & Biffy that much then what's the point of you being here? But 1 star? For goodness' sake people, this is still Biffy Clyro, not Bucks Fizz or Bananarama. It is a good album - but compared with previous Biffy albums - it is unquestionably their worst, for me. I hesitate to say least 'experimental' because technically, it is experimental - they have never made such a pop-oriented, clean-sounding album - and this is unfortunately where the Biffsters fall flat on their face, and end up sounding like they've run out of ideas for the magic pot of ingredients. Unless of course they just wanted to get a 'pop' album out of their system - only to return to 'Infinity Land' ways in the near future?!: Discuss.
There is absolutely no point in me analysing particular songs, lyrical mishaps or supposed un-imaginative song structures - that is personal to each listener. Hence, if you loved 'Blackened Sky' but thought 'Vertigo...' and 'Infinity...' were 'crapper' - you may like this album more than I do. Or you may not, who knows?
One of the other reviewers hit the nail on the head - I stuck it in my cd player/car stereo/mp3 for weeks on end - but still I fail to love this album. It just doesn't grab me the way previous albums have. A shame really, and I may be verging on optimism here but maybe, just maybe, we'll hear a swift return to the ways of le Biffy of old...
I'd also like to point out that I'm not ranting and raving that people shouldn't like this album - it is a personal opinion, so calm down before you go all semi-mental on me. If you love it, great. I don't, and that's fair enough, end of.
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