Biffy Clyro have hosted an emotional listening party for their album ‘Infinity Land’ in tribute to former NME writer Dan Martin, who died last month. Martin was considered to be “one of the loudest.
Mixes fractured stop-start riffing with classical and folk influences and surreal lyrical themes, whilst being simultaneously heavier and more melodic than anything they have done before. Biffy Clyro have announced an Infinity Land listening party to honor former NME writer Dan Martin, who died last month. The band already planned to join Tim Burgess for a listening party of their new album, A Celebration of Endings, on Twitter next week. In addition to this, they’ll host a second listening party in tribute to Martin. Ethan 3rd: By far their darkest and perhaps their most obscure album, Infinity Land is maybe overlooked but personally I feel its Biffy at their most inventive. Simon Neil’s vocals are phenomenal as he adapts to each track with ease and his delivery is commanding no matter what is required of him. Biffy Clyro - Infinity Land review. Album Rating: 4.5 I think this is a great album. The review is very well written, but I disagree that the second half of the album drags a bit, I always thought that from wave upon wave onwards is some of the finest material Biffy have written, and I also disagree that There's No Such Man. Gets in the way, i always found it rather amusing.
Despite a more substantial back catalogue than some, Infinity Land being the band’s third album in three years, Biffy Clyro seem permanently perched on the precipice between ‘hotly-tipped’ and ‘well established’. Indeed when Kerrang recently dubbed them “the future of British rock”, you can imagine them rolling their eyes, wondering what exactly they have to do to make the move into British rock’s present.
From Kerrang’s accreditation we can surmise that British rock’s future will be based on taking the kind of poppy punk that people like fellow Scots Idlewild and American bands such as The Offspring and Weezer have built careers on and attempting to blend it with other, more unexpected elements.
Album opener Glitter And Trauma sets the tone – initially pretending to be some piece of Warp electronic, then embracing those jerky guitars Franz Ferdinand have recently annexed and finally hitting you with the actual song, a kind of rock/grunge/punk hybrid that people like the Foo Fighters have perfected. It’s not bad, but it feels like less than was promised.
You’re left with that feeling a lot on Infinity Land, a sense of what could have been if the band had been slightly less afraid to take songs down the more interesting and less well-travelled musical path.
It’s frustrating because they often seem really close to doing so, throwing bits of death-metal screaming (Only One Word Comes To Mind), dirgey guitars (Get Wrong) and various other less obviously commercial aspects into the mix, only to withdraw at the last minute, returning to a more predictable base when in sight of something better. The Kids From Kibble And The Fist Of Light (great title!) is a fine example – what starts really threateningly, like some black-clad behemoth knocking on your speakers with a selection of sacrificial animals and a big knife, turns out to be little more than some kid in a Blink 182 t-shirt clutching a skateboard.
Amplifying the frustration is the fact Infinity Land does contain occasions when Biffy Clyro go and make something interesting. The Atrocity is a bitter-sweet little acoustic lament, kind of Nick Drake in a Scottish brogue, The Weapons Are Concealed sounds like The Clash performing a James Bond theme and Wave Upon Wave Upon Wave couples Nirvana dynamics to a fantastically onomatopoeic chorus which relentlessly crashes down upon you.
There’s No Such Man As Crasp also deserves to be mentioned, not because it’s particularly good, but because it seems to be a tribute to The Flying Picketts who obviously do not get the respect their career deserved.
“Once again / You’ve missed the point” Biffy Clyro sing on The Kids From Kibble And The Fist Of Light (I so rarely get to say that in normal conversation I though I’d exploit the opportunity to say it again), and maybe I have, but rather than a brave new world, Infinity Land comes across as a band trying to do justice to a wide range of influences and not really succeeding. This is an album with an identity crisis.
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:format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(90)/discogs-images/R-2197472-1392810560-9072.jpeg.jpg "Infinity Land Biffy Clyro Raritan")
| Wikipedia: | en: Infinity Land[info] |
|---|---|
| Discogs: | https://www.discogs.com/master/243516[info] |
| reviews: | https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/pj3n[info] |
| other databases: | http://www.musik-sammler.de/album/83062[info] |
| Allmusic: | https://www.allmusic.com/album/mw0000473371[info] |
| Wikidata: | Q2917792[info] |
Infinity Land Biffy Clyro Raritan Park
CritiqueBrainz Reviews
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Scottish three-piece Biffy Clyro certainly don't hang about when it comes to bashing out new records. Unlike most bands who release an album perhaps once every two to three years, these hard sloggers completely break the mould by releasing an LP every 12 months. The amazing thing is that Infinity Land, their third record, sounds so complex at times that you'd have thought it would have taken them years to complete.
The album, which was produced by the band and with the help of Foo Fighters and Feeder producer Chris Sheldon, is crammed with 13 sprawling songs that are a testament to the Scottish trio's work rate.
The genius of Infinity Land is the band's ability to lace sweet sounding melodies with brutal guitar riffs, heavy drum-rolls and unpredictable stop start arrangements.
The aptly titled opening track 'Glitter And Trauma' is a fine example of this, kicking off with a series of scratchy dance beats before bursting into meaty guitar hooks set against singer Simon Neil's gentle vocals. At times he almost sounds like Queens Of The Stone Age frontman Josh Homme.
But any further comparison ends there. From here on in Neil's vocals switch from harmonious ('The Atrocity') to full on screeching ('Strung To Your Ribcage'). Despite the former track's gentle approach, the words are extremely desolate as the haunting lyrics: 'I don't wanna die. Don't expect me to die', clearly reinforce. This is mirrored in the traumatic 'Wave Upon Wave' where Neil talks about a knife in his hand covered in blood.
Nearly every song is unpredictable. Even the album's heaviest number 'Theres No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake' completely trips you up with its melodic twists.
Biffy Clyro Bubbles
As a result Biffy Clyro can only be applauded for pushing the boundaries so brilliantly. Infinity Land is without doubt the band's finest material to date.