Review: Biffy Clyro – The Myth of the Happily Ever After
Review: Biffy Clyro - The Myth of the Happily Ever After
Ayrshire band Biffy Clyro released the sister album to 2020âs A Celebration of Endings on October 22nd which goes by the name of The Myth of the Happily Ever After. The latest Biffy Clyro album feels like a set of rules and a statement of how the United Kingdom has felt over the Coronavirus pandemic which makes for a powerful fifty minutes of politically charged and religious based rock.Â
Opening song DumDum is a powerful documentation of the current Conservative governmentâs response to the pandemic. Through the first-person perspective they release a song which Brits can relate to and feel the anger once again of the Tory governments response to Covid both during and post restrictions.
The song describes how âeverythingâs great, nothing has changed, life couldnât be betterâ which relates to the abolishment of restrictions and the view that despite the âbodies at the doorâ, we are given positive âconvictionsâ which are to mask the negligent response to Covid. However, they donât mask what we see, they only mask it for themselves which in the eyes of the country makes the government seem cowardly and in denial. Â
The song is a slow burner which contrasts with usual Biffy Clyro album openers and feels more like an interlude to the album; a statement which lets listeners know where the album comes from which is a period of misery and being in the dark while we succumb to the Conservatives decisions of when we live our lives.Â
The beautiful aspect of this and A Celebration of Endings opening track North of No South is it now feels like both tracks document the response in two extremely different years with in 2020 the song stating âthereâs nothing below, up above us is only darkness⌠thereâs no brightness coming backâ which was the half empty view we had at time. It also feels like the government was still being scrutinised back then – âsticking around to blame it on someone elseâ but as they made mistakes, we âremoved the shroudâ and saw what was happening without the mist and the spin the government were feeding to us.
Now we are aware of what the government has done, The Myth of the Happily Ever After is there to scrutinise and let everybody know how they feel about a topic which has affected everybody in the world.Â
The next song on the album was the second single A Hunger in Your Haunt which sounds an opposite to the tempo of the opening track, and it is our first taste of Biffy Clyroâs famous rock sound. Talking to Radio X lead singer Simon Neil stated it was about when you âdidnât feel like getting out of bedâ during the bulk of the pandemic and having to âpull yourself up.â The song describes that feeling stating the âreason has gone, purpose has gone, all thatâs guaranteed is the state weâre inâ which couldnât describe how we felt better â if you canât do anything, whatâs the purpose of getting up? You need to find that purpose, find something you can do, find the hunger to get up in a haunting situation like the pandemic.Â
Denier is another poke at the government response, switching between the perspective of the government and the people. On one hand people want those in power to âsay they careâ and at the beginning of the pandemic needed to rely on those in power, contrasting with the end of the song âI bet you didnât care⌠of course you didnât careâ showing how people placed false belief into those in charge.Â
The governments attempt to win over the people is implied with Biffy stating politicians want you to think they âcareâ for us but naively rely on their âdenials to come trueâ which ends up hurting people more than being realistic and straight speaking.
Denier is a song which contrasts pure rock and anger within Neilâs voice with lines of slow talking emotion to the audience which makes it one of my favourite songs on the album, it feels like the more the band thinks of how everyoneâs been treated, it riles them up even more.
Separate Missions is another âsound of the promises brokenâ and the obsession with getting their beliefs out is clear and it is great to see a high-profile band exposing the government which if they didnât have a reason due to living through and seeing the response to the pandemic, the lack of funding for music and grassroot music venues is another with bands and their staff being out of work with little to no support. This is an album also giving a statement on behalf of music, letting the government know that this will not be forgotten, how they left music to die.Â
The Witchâs Cup is a song which uses typical Biffy Clyro themes of afterlife and death. It is a beautifully composed, easy to listen to song that explores us wanting something âdeeper and âmeaningfulâ compared to the flawed earth which is âfull of holes. After the battering of the government for the first part of the album, itâs nice to have something to âbelieve inâ which takes us away from the hardships of life and for the album, itâs good to have some positivity rather than being reminded of the controlling nature of those above us and feelings of being obsolete to the minority with power.Â
Themes of religion and afterlife are continued within Holy Water, Errors in the History of God and Haru Urara which are slow to fast songs which back up how Biffy Clyro see this album; âIf we can talk about it, sing a song about it, we could make a changeâ, this album isnât only explaining how they feel politically but a set of rules which people should take to live their lives with examples through politics â be honest, live to the fullest extent and donât repeat the mistakes you see and experience that are motivated by greed and denial, we need our âstoryâsâ to be âbeautifulâ, we shouldnât be âtrollsâ ready to âscorch s**tâ and make life difficult for each other, itâs difficult enough already.Â
The motivating single Unknown Male 01 is one of the best songs on the album, not only for the lyrics but the fiery riffs from the band – âstep out to the unknown, Iâll catch you on the way downâ is a reassuring line post pandemic.’ After being stopped to go out and do things, this is the opportunity to try and live, if you donât make it, find something else and keep trying, the only way you will hit the ground is through âself-abasementâ which the band describe as a âchoreâ and itâs true, donât belittle yourself, do what you want, try it, never underestimate yourself and who knows where you could go. For me, this sums up this beautiful album and released as a single, itâs a statement which the band know is pivotal for people to hear.Â
The ending gives you goosebumps after listening to the entirety of the album and feels like the band are giving you more rules with Existed, while being hypnotised with Slurpy Slurpy Sleep Sleep, which has the title of the song being repeated at the beginning and end with motivational statements in the middle of the song such as âgive it all that youâve got before the rhythm stopsâ, âbefore it ends, give love to everyoneâ and âdonât pretend, love everyoneâ. The rock getting heavier as the title is repeated sounds and by the end you feel motivated to get out there and be the best you can be â which Biffy have always preached.Â
I love what this album stands for, I adore what Biffy Clyro are teaching us based on the period of the unknown which we have never had before. Through working together as people, we can make the world a better place, but the question lies, is this world too flawed to achieve that? Are there too many âholesâ which means nothing will change? Or is that a pessimistic view thatâs part of the issue and through following the rules suggested in the album will lead to a better society and a happier life? Biffy Clyro seem to want people to give it a go despite acknowledging these âholesâ and even if the world doesnât do it, surely one would be living a happier life, content with how they have lived it when it comes to an end.Â
This automatically is my favourite Biffy Clyro album, I never thought anything would beat Puzzle or Opposites but Biffy Clyro, you have excelled. I cannot wait to hear it live, wow.Â
Rating: 10/10
By Daniel Jones
Feature Image: Biffy Clyro Facebook
