To entice us for the release of their eighth studio album “A Celebration of Endings”, Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro have released the second single from the album ‘End Of’. Departing from the more electro-pop sound of their first single ‘Instant History’, ‘End Of’ can feel at times like an amalgamation of all the best parts of the band’s unique sound.
It wields a prolonged intro that Biffy are so fond of, and that we often see from their albums’ opening song, if they are looking to follow that trend. It seems to hark back to the tone of ‘Infinity Land’, an early album of the band, with the unpredictable, somewhat futuristic sound, but this is immediately undercut by a baseline that seems straight out of Scott Pilgrim. Simon Neil’s vocals are luxuriously Scottish, an unmistakable marker of the band and their music. Vocal slides pull you into the song and the staccato keyboard seems to juxtapose everything we are hearing. The song is a manner of push and pull, not knowing where it is going to go next, leading into the instrumental that really demonstrates what this band does best, and how worthy they are of recognition. The cymbals provide such an interesting balance to the intricate guitar, brash but without seeming out of place. All in all the many aspects of the song that could seem incongruous on their face, instead melt into a harmonious exploration of this band and their sound, and is certainly a great signifier of what we have to look forward to on this album. It’s big, it’s bold and it’s unmistakably Biffy.
[Meghann Paterson – she/her]
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