Biffy Clyro - 'Questions & Answers' (Beggars Banquet)
3/5
By: Thomas Hannan
Ladies and gentlemen, we present a change of direction. As we speak, Biffy Clyro are heading for that risky second album territory ('The Vertigo Of Bliss' is out next month). Any self-respecting soul would expect these playful bohemians to finally open up that huge can of pretension that's loomed around their work to date and make sure whatever they come up with next is positively swimming in it. But, alas, something even stranger has occurred. Biffy Clyro have taken a turn for the normal.
Their task previously seemed to involve trying to cram as many different songs as possible into one three minute composition, but that's certainly not the case with 'Questions & Answers'. It's a very coherent, flowing, excellently-crafted and memorable song - more pop-rock than post-rock, more Idlewild than Shellac. No strange chords, no outbursts of noise that seem to come from nowhere, heck, it's even all in the same time-signature.
The unremitting repetition of a simple chorus ('you've got all these great answers to all these great questions' will be in your head 'till kingdom come) is the trick they always had up their sleeve and seemed ashamed to use, but finally here it is, in all its simplified glory. 'Questions & Answers' replaces all that didn't seem to fit about Biffy Clyro's work with a new found fetish for convention. Where they used to be falling over themselves for ideas, they've now taken the safe route and stuck to a single concept. The result isn't half as exciting, but much more of an easy listen. Yes, this suggests wanting things both ways. But is that really too much to ask?
Artists in this article: Biffy Clyro
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