In no hurry to reveal its bounty of secrets, A Celebration Of Endings unfurls like a lotus flower. On a first date, Space is a ballad of such purity that it dislocates the jaw. Cop Syrup kicks off like an explosion in a shouting factory only to pivot into an extended night-and-day instrumental movement that flows and swells into this year’s most beautiful piece of music. But this is a collection that rewards investment, and will likely do so for seasons to come. The splendorous melody that opens The Champ, the fizz of Tiny Indoor Fireworks, the jackhammer groove of Instant History - each come out to play in their own good time. Throughout, the construction is tight, the attention to detail forensic and just so damn clever.
As well as this, A Celebration Of Endings is a report from a world in desperate need of focus. 'There’s nothing above us, below us are only corpses' the band sing on North Of No South, the opening track, and from here the album bubbles, and occasionally explodes, with a turmoil that is rarely obtrusive. After writing and recording the album’s 11 songs, frontman Simon Neil suspected that the Western world had washed its face and was thinking about bucking up its ideas. COVID put paid to that, and so the wolves of winter are surely coming. But until they arrive, Biffy Clyro have delivered an album of restless invention, substance and style that arrives like a spray of water on the arid expanse of this saddest of summers.
Verdict: 5/5
For Fans Of: Muse, Foo Fighters, IDLES
A Celebration Of Endings is released on August 14 via Warner Music / 14th Floor.
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