Ellipsis (studio album) by Biffy Clyro

1. 95
2. 70
3. 55
4. 70
5. 60
6. 70
7. 90
8. 50
9. 75
10. 90
11. 60

Like so many rock bands from the early 2000s that still release music today, Biffy Clyro has taken a step towards the modern, polished pop-rock sound, dropping their rhythmic and energetic melodies for something closer to The Maine; still melodic and still energetic but less personal. 'Ellipsis' is by no means a bad album, but after the hit-making machine that was 'Only Revolutions' and the polarizing giant that was 'Opposites' it just comes across as somewhat plain. The singles pack some punch, the opening track 'Wolves of Winter' in particular, but the other songs like most other alternative rock bands of the era.

I guess that the biggest disappointment is the overproduced instrumentation and the polished vocals. It takes away some of the raw energy the band has previously relished in. Even the ballads lack the warm embrace from 'Opposite' from the previous album - just look at 'Re-arrange' form instance. Then we have a minor post-hardcore leftover in 'On A Bang' and a weird little romp in 'Small Wishes'. It's like the band is desperately trying to sound different but not quite daring to go all the way.

From LedZep 03/08/2018 22:58

1. Blackened Sky
2. Puzzle
3. Infinity Land
4. Only Revolutions
5. The Vertigo of Bliss
6.
7. Opposites
8.
9.
10. Ellipsis

This is how not good Ellipsis is. Simon Neil stop trying to be Kanye please. Still love these guys

From grohly 03/16/2017 17:05

As a huge Biffy fan, I have given myself a lot of time to mull this one over. I splashed out on the vinyl boxset, complete with hand written lyrics, posters, the whole shabang. After the amount of money I spent on the boxset of Ellipsis, I really wanted to like it more than any other Biffy album. Disappointingly, that is not the case. I saw signs that this was going to be a let down before the album was even released. First of all, the album cover is terrible, what were they thinking?! But that shouldn't matter if the tunes are good. So the first single was released, Wolves of Winter, and that did not lift my spirits. Biffy had not evolved. The good wave of optimism coming off of Opposites had vanished.

But it wasn't all doom and gloom! Fortunately, Wolves was and still is my least favourite song on the album. Friends and Enemies and In the Name of the Wee Man are really great, classic Biffy rockers. Medicine is up there with As Dust Dances as a tender piece of songwriting. Some songs like Animal Style and On A Bang have grown on me a lot and I do like them. It's just not enough!

Before this album was released, Simon and the gang were saying that they were moving in a completely different direction, taking influence from reggae, metal, Kanye and ASAP Rocky. How in the hell then, did they come up with Ellipsis? It's really just a neutered version of Puzzle (which was my least favourite of theirs) with a few production gimmicks. I'll still like whatever Biffy put out because they still rock and I will always love the way Simon sings but I'm really afraid for their future. They need to pull their socks up and be truly bold again. They need their own Yeezus!