CD REVIEW: Biffy Clyro - Puzzle

Until recently Biffy Clyro had remained on the periphery of my consciousness. All I could have told you about them would have been "hairy singer, Scottish band, loud alright-ish songs" and then I would have been struggling to say anything else.

All that changed when I saw the video for "Living is a problem because everything dies" and I saw singer Simon Neil topless, tattooed and drenched in water. I'd discovered a new fetish for soggy, hairy men and I'm well aware that this is a pretty lame reason to investigate a band further but I'm very glad that's what I did next.

Puzzle is the fourth album from the band but is their debut on a major label. The move to a major has ensured they've developed a more accessible sound which will no doubt upset some of the hardcore fans from the early days but will be a joy to those who want to see the band get more radio play and move up to the "big league"!

Whilst the album contains several straight-forward rock tracks it's the more dramatic experimental numbers like "Living is a problem..." and "9/15ths" which are the standout tracks. Normally bands only add a choir to the proceedings when it's all starting to go wrong and they're getting major delusions of grandeur but fortunately in this case they've been brought in to add mask any weaknesses in the songs just used as icing on top of the musical cake.

Slower tacks like "As Dust Dances" occasionally veer into Snow Patrol territory but good Snow Patrol (Yes, there was such a thing - check out some of the early pre-success albums!) These songs aren't as memorable on first listen but likely to grow on the listener pretty quickly.

Puzzle is a definite step forward for the band and should see them gaining a whole new fanbase. If that ensures that they get to release even more albums then that's great news for music fans and hairy men fetishists alike.