Futique
Biffy Clyro
There is something reassuring about Biffy Clyro making a song called Friendshipping. The title is a little awkward, but the feeling behind it is easy to understand. Futique spends a lot of time thinking about the people you keep, the moments you miss and the things that help you continue. The music makes those ideas feel large without making them difficult.
A Little Love opens with a nervous rhythm before the chorus gives everything a lift. Simon Neil has always been good at putting a fragile thought inside a forceful song, and this is a strong example. The synths add colour without taking the guitars out of the picture.
Hunting Season brings a more aggressive side forward. Its sudden changes and heavy riff give the album some welcome bite, and the band sound completely at home when the rhythm starts moving around. It's short, busy and memorable. There is quite a lot of Biffy packed into those three minutes.
The quieter Goodbye is just as important. The melody has room to settle, and Neil doesn't need to force the emotion. That restraint makes the bigger moments elsewhere more effective. Woe Is Me, Wow Is You uses the move from a gentle beginning to a full-band release particularly well.
Some of the more direct choruses are familiar territory, and anyone hoping for the band's strangest record will have to look elsewhere. But the emotional focus gives the songs a reason to exist beyond filling an arena. Friendshipping is a good example: the idea of a friendship changing or ending is handled with the same seriousness usually reserved for a breakup.
The ending broadens the sound again through Two People in Love. Its more patient arrangement lets the album finish with a little curiosity as well as reassurance. That is a useful combination.
Futique succeeds through the connection between its smaller feelings and its large sound. The best riffs are still exciting, but the songs about keeping close to other people give the album its character. There is plenty here to sing loudly, and a fair amount worth thinking about afterwards.
