We Just Need To Survive

Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro have been at it for awhile, for almost two decades now, yet their sound still attracts fans who are younger than the amount of years the band has been around. Their sixth studio album, Opposites, couldn’t be contained on just one disc, so they’ve released a two-disc, 22-track set that has become their first album to top the UK Albums Charts.

Biffy Clyro recorded the album in sunny Santa Monica, away from their dreary-weathered home, hoping that would take away some of the tension and negativity the band was feeling towards one another and in general. Disc one captures that negativity and an “I give up” attitude (a lyric on the track “The Joke’s On Us” sums this up: “Let’s move to California, find ourselves another world”), while disc two stands as the exact opposite.

Simon Neil’s voice tends to fluctuate from higher-pitched and soft to lower and grungy and sort of sexy. He starts off slow and anthemic in disc one’s opening track “Different People” and then gets lower and croakier in following track “Black Chandelier,” although the chorus is still anthemic and something you feel like you have to scream loud and hold your fist in the air while singing.

His guitar riffs do the same thing. Sometimes they’re catchy enough to make you think you’re listening to your favorite pop punk song, like in “Different People” or “Pocket.” But he gets heavy too, which is heard at the end of the climactic track “Fog.” Sometimes you’ll hear both, like in “Stingin’ Belle,” a song Neil says is about a woman scorned and feeling limited.

Some may think Biffy Clyro have spread themselves too thin with this piece of work, but Opposites might work because of its variety and fluctuation. You’ll hear kazoos, a tap dancer, a mariachi band and bagpipes amidst some damn fine rock tunes.