BIFFY CLYRO - The Myth Of Happily Ever After LP+CD (Red Vinyl)

Label: Warner

While technically a companion work to 2020's A Celebration of Endings, Scotland’s Biffy Clyro's ninth studio album, the emotionally sanguine The Myth of Happily Ever After, stands on its own. Produced by Adam Noble and largely recorded during the COVID-19 pandemic, the album bristles with a mix of frustration, anger, and yearning, all of which feel intrinsically linked to the turmoil surrounding the pandemic. It's a thematic state of emotion the band touched upon with A Celebration of Endings, but which they attack with a renewed sense of purpose here.

Biffy Clyro have long been a band of extremes, crafting esoteric art rock epics one minute and melodic punk singalongs the next -- all the while aiming for a broad, gladiator-esque level of catharsis. The Myth of the Happily Ever After serves as an excellent and shockingly ambitious outing from a band that seemed to be trending in all the wrong directions not long ago. With this album, they’ve reclaimed control of their story.