As their name suggests, Scottish rock outfit Biffy Clyro aren’t your average three-piece. Their new album Only Revolutions features Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age and artwork from Storm Thorgerson, who’s done album covers for Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.
Their music sounds like the bastard child of a Metallica, Weezer and Pixies threesome, with the orchestral mothering of a Beethoven masterpiece. And that’s just track one.
Having bore witness to the band’s kinetic live show, I was expecting a gruff Scottish inflection on the other line from bassist James Johnston. Instead I got a gentle, light-hearted conversation with one of the nicest guys I’ve talked to.
The band’s previous album, 2007’s Puzzle, was a breakthrough both critically and commercially. So, what was the process like recording its follow up?
” Puzzle was big, compared to what we were used to,” Johnston admits. “There’s a certain amount of expectation and pressure with the new album, but we still practice in the same room we’ve always practiced in and we still live in the same town. Nothing much has changed. I still ride my bike.”
Biffy’s last album marked a real change of direction. Its many diverse and electic numbers were inflected with sadness and anger that Johnston says came from the death of frontman Simon Neill’s mother. “It had very specific themes in that regard, but this album’s about moving on from that. It’s optimistic, the lyrics and the music. Hopefully it’ll still sound great in ten or fifteen years, and be something we can be proud of. We’re really happy with what we’ve done.”
When asked what his favourite track off the new one is, Johnston didn’t hesitate. “The Captain is a real vicious track and we wanted to start the record off with a bang. It’s unexpected, it’ll catch people off guard. Starting the album off with a big brass section is not something you’d expect from rock bands. I really like it.”
The cover for Only Revolutions is – as is the case with every Storm Thorgerson artwork – ‘unique’. It features a man and a woman with giant, billowing blindfolds covering their eyes and a kitchen table catching on fire in the background. According to Johnston, “It’s the revolution of life, the revolution you go through in relationships. The cover’s saying that the time for talking is over, and the two people in it have to square up to each other. In life some things can be difficult, and it comes down to actions as opposed to words.”
Working with Storm, a 65-year-old legend of the industry, was sure to be fascinating for the band. “He’s a really intense gentleman. He’s reaching the twilight of his life in a way, he’d kill me for saying that…but he’s a very opinionated man and it’s not just about a pretty picture for him. He gets all the lyrics right from the start and works out what the album’s about, and then tries to work out something that fits in with the themes of the album.”
And what about the fans? Biffy fans are notorious for being devoted and fanatical, shouting – œMon the Biffy!’ before every gig and going to crazy lengths to show their affection for the band.
Johnston shares a couple of stories. “On the tour about two years ago there was a group of fans that would come to every show and sleep in their car. It was right in the middle of winter in Scotland, in their Ford Fiesta or whatever the fuck it is, that’s a lot of dedication right there. Oh and the first time we’d see someone with a Biffy tattoo, that’d basically bring us to tears, you know? Someone willing to sacrifice a bit of their skin for the rest of their life to show some affection for the band. It was a big deal just for us to get Biffy tattoos, so for other people to do it, it’s amazing.”
– œMon the Biffy’ is surely a ridiculous thing to chant under any circumstance – does Johnston want to put to bed the constant rumours about the band’s preposterous name? “No, not really,” he says with a laugh. “Now and again I’ll make up an interesting answer and I’m getting a bit bored with it I think. It comes down to the fact we were thirteen or fourteen when we started the band and didn’t know any better. We just wanted a stupid name that would confuse people and piss them off. And I guess it’s still working.”
Australians can look forward to getting their Biffy Clyro fix at the Pyramid Rock Festival, along with a couple of sideshows in Melbourne and Sydney. Johnston, too, is excited. “We love it in Australia, man. The attitude of the people; they’re amazing and really relaxed. It’s really refreshing, the media in this country are really quite stiff and rigid, but in Australia it really stands out how relaxed people are. You like letting your hair down and having a party…it’s a good place.”
So, after successful albums and tours, does the bassist feel Biffy Clyro has – œmade it’? Johnston is coy. “If I said that we’d – œmade it’, I’d sort of hang up and feel guilty, and feel like where are we gonna go next? In some ways that you measure a band’s success, in certain ways we’ve surpassed a lot of those dreams, but we don’t want to start thinking about how great we are, we want to be thinking about the next step. I don’t think we’ve reached the end of wherever it is that we’re going.”
Only Revolutions is out now through Warner Music. Read the FasterLouder review here. Biffy Clyro play these shows in summer.
Thursday 31 Dec – Pyramid Rock Festival, Melbourne
Saturday 2 Jan – The Hi Fi, Melbourne
Sunday 3 Jan – Metro Theatre, Sydney
to listen to their music now on 