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EDIT INFOBiffy Clyro - Infinity Land
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Album Details
- Artist: Biffy Clyro
- Album: Infinity Land
- Label: Beggars
- Year of Release: 2005
- ME Rating:
- Reviewed by: dscanland on 2005-02-24
RecommendInfinity Land is the Glasgow-based Biffy Clyro's third full-length and I have been watching this band grow since day one. Infinity Land ends up being a little schitzophrenic with it's delivery though. The first track on the album (the first single as well), "Glitter and Trauma" is one of the juciest slabs of alterna-pop that I have heard in quite some time. And for the most part Infinity Land is pretty much along this track, semi-accessible pop tracks that have a bit of an angular approach to them. "Wave Upon Wave" is one of the easiest to get into. It's got a driving beat to it with some chuggy lyrics sounding like Shudder To Think a little. There is this accessible sound and then they get all hardcore metal on us on tracks such as "Only One Word Comes To Mind" or the post-hardcore sound of "There's No Such Thing As A Jaggy Snake". "The Kids From Kibble and the Fist Of Light" sounds like a Jimmy Eat World song. Then there is the overly ambitious song "My Recovery Injection" that is just screaming to be released as a single. It's a funny mix but seeing that the UK has hooked onto them, they may just make it. They have been hailed as one of England's hardest working bands and that would probably explain their big fanbase in the UK. Infinity Land is a very ambitious album that Biffy Clyro should be proud of. Whether or not they catch on State-side is another story but rest assured, Infinity Land has what it takes.
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on 2011-10-30 CharlesMartel Said:
Always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Biffy Clyro's third album ought to have seen them well-established on the UK mainstream-indie scene, up there challenging the Kaiser Chiefs, the Enemy and Snow Patrol. But instead they remain firmly rooted in the same category as the Rifles, promising but not big yet. However, that is the only comparison I will draw between Biffy Clyro and the Rifles for while the latter are an edgy band with great hooks and some real attitude, Biffy Clyro are a pastiche of an indie outfit.
Actually, I will make one other comparison with the Rifles. Like the Rifles' two albums so far, "Infinity Land " has a hidden track, a device which I loathe. But at least the Rifles don't make you wait through twenty minutes of silence before you get to hear it. I resented the time I wasted waiting around for it. And I resent the band for playing this sort of stupid game.
Back to the opening issue of this review, then. Perhaps the reason why Biffy Clyro have not made the grade, despite having been around since 1995 or something, is due to the apparent lack of direction in their music. I feel that this album is another in a long line of aimless meanderings by bands who cannot tell where they are or where they want to go, and instead try to hide their indecision behind ridiculous song titles and silly themes. While it is fine, probably laudable in fact, for a band not too take themselves too seriously, there should be at least a degree of earnestness in what they do.
Biffy Clyro have therefore missed the point. And perhaps by a wide margin. The band lurch from one style to another, from the almost industrial sound of the opening track, "Glitter and Trauma" , to the Rush-esque proggy opening to " The Weapons Are Concealed ". In between, they try out a bit of a capella with " There's No Such Man as Crasp" and the thundering aural assault of the ridiculously named "Kids from Kibble and the Fist of Light" . By the time you reach the end, perhaps you need that twenty minutes to try to figure out what sort of band you were actually listening to.
At times, "Infinity Land" shows a great deal of promise. The band certainly has ideas which bear the stamp of originality, but they really need to settle down and stop lurching all over the place. How are they going to build themselves a fan base if they cannot figure out what sort of band they are? In the fickle world of the mainstream, even mainstream indie, that is the cardinal sin.
Rating: 5/10
