Ellipsis | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 8 July 2016 | |||
Recorded | 2015–2016 | |||
Studio | Eldorado Recording Studios, Burbank, California and Foxy Studios Woodland Hills, Los Angeles , California | |||
Genre | Alternative rock, pop rock [1] | |||
Length | 38:57 | |||
Label | 14th Floor, Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Biffy Clyro, Rich Costey | |||
Biffy Clyro chronology | ||||
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Singles from Ellipsis | ||||
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Ellipsis is the seventh studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro. It was produced by Rich Costey and released on 8 July 2016. Ellipsis entered the UK charts at number one, making it Biffy Clyro's second number one album, after 2013's Opposites .
Confirmation that the band was working on a new record came in early 2014, with frontman Simon Neil telling Radio X in an interview that they had written "about 14 songs so far", stating that the album was projected for possible release by the end of 2015. [5] He also commented saying that the band was due to take a break from public involvement to bring themselves away from the spotlight following touring in support of their 2013 album, Opposites .
The band took 2015 as a "year off" from public appearances, as they did not want fans to tire of seeing them, [6] although they did play a one off show as the headline act in Edinburgh's Hogmanay Concert in the Gardens, where they debuted a new song "On a Bang". [7] The band recorded the majority of the album in Burbank, California following drummer Ben Johnston's claims that they would visit somewhere "exotic" to record it as a change of pace from their home country of Scotland. The band took a similar approach in 2012 while working on the previous record, travelling to West Los Angeles, California to record the majority of the album.
In January 2016, the band discussed the album with NME , calling it the "best record we've made", [8] and revealing John Waters and hip-hop artist A$AP Rocky as influences of the sound of the new music.
In the days leading up to 21 March 2016, the band's official YouTube channel released snippets from the album's first single, "Wolves of Winter", announcing the date of the single's release. On 21 March, the videos were removed, and replaced by a 1:30 long preview of the song announcing the name and release date of the album. [9] The song was first played in full on 21 March during Zane Lowe's Hottest Record on Beats 1, [10] and again later during Annie Mac's World's Hottest Record on Radio 1. Lead singer Simon Neil appeared on both broadcasts to speak about the album and reveal some extra details about the background of the single. [11]
A limited edition Ellipsis box set has been made available to pre-order exclusively on the band's official store site. The full set includes two 180g heavyweight vinyl records, a 7" single ("Wolves of Winter"), a hard-cover book featuring photos and lyrics, hand-written lyrics from Simon Neil, and several prints signed by band members. It also includes a full digital copy of the album on release, and a downloadable MP3 of the album's first single. [12]
The album's finalised artwork was released on 8 April 2016 via the band's official website [13] and Instagram pages. [14]
The standard album features 11 tracks, with a 13-track "Deluxe" edition released alongside the original. [15] [16] [17] The deluxe edition of the album also contains an additional video when purchased on iTunes. [18]
The album received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream music critics, the album received an average score of 73, which indicates "generally favourable reviews". [19] The Observer would award the album four out of five stars, praising the diversity of the tracklist from the "chugging, brutal 'Animal Style'" to the "R&B style of 'Re-Arrange'" and noted the track 'Herex' boasted a "malevolent reggae groove". Similarly, NME noted the contrast between the "pure urgency and anger" of the opening two tracks 'Wolves of Winter' and 'Friends and Enemies' and the "mellower, personal moments" such as 'Medicine' and 'People' and concluded that "by opening themselves up Biffy Clyro have captured the spirit of a brand-new band again." [20]
Some reviews were more critical. The Guardian stated that the album is "simply less interesting than [the band] used to be", although did praise the track 'Small Wishes' due to its "likable country jangle". [21] Conversely, this track was criticised by Consequence for being out of place, saying that it "should ultimately have been saved for a B-side compilation." [22]
Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 73/100 |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
Kerrang! | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Observer | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
NME | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
AllMusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
The Guardian | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Publication | Accolade | Year | Rank | Ref. |
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NME | NME's Albums of the Year 2016 | 2016 | 26 |
Songs and lyrics by Simon Neil, music by Simon Neil except where noted.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Wolves of Winter" | 4:08 | |
2. | "Friends and Enemies" | 4:12 | |
3. | "Animal Style" |
| 3:30 |
4. | "Re-Arrange" | 3:37 | |
5. | "Herex" | 3:57 | |
6. | "Medicine" | 3:53 | |
7. | "Flammable" |
| 3:07 |
8. | "On a Bang" | 2:38 | |
9. | "Small Wishes" | 3:06 | |
10. | "Howl" |
| 3:33 |
11. | "People" | 3:16 | |
Total length: | 38:57 |
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
12. | "Don't, Won't, Can't" | 3:18 |
13. | "In the Name of the Wee Man" | 4:25 |
Total length: | 46:40 |
Biffy Clyro
Production
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [49] | Gold | 100,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Biffy Clyro are a Scottish rock band that formed in Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, composed of Simon Neil, James Johnston, and Ben Johnston. Currently signed to 14th Floor Records, they have released nine studio albums, six of which reached the top five in the UK Albums Chart, with their sixth studio album, Opposites claiming their first UK No. 1 album. Three consecutive studio albums peaked at number one in the UK official albums chart. After their first three albums, the band expanded their following significantly in 2007 with the release of their fourth album, Puzzle, creating more mainstream songs with simpler rhythms and distancing themselves from the more unusual dissonant style present in their previous three albums. Puzzle peaked at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart on 16 June 2007. The album went platinum in the UK in 2012, having sold over 300,000 copies. In the early 2010’s, they built up a reputation of being one of the biggest rock bands in the UK.
Blackened Sky is the debut studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro. Largely produced with the band by Chris Sheldon, it was released by Beggars Banquet Records on 10 March 2002. The album reached number 78 on the UK Albums Chart, and spawned four singles. A deluxe remastered edition was released in 2012, which featured, in addition to the original 12 album tracks, two songs from the band's debut extended play (EP) thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow and a number of B-sides from the album's singles.
Infinity Land is the third studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro, released on 4 October 2004 on Beggars Banquet.
Marmaduke Duke are a Scottish conceptual rock duo from Ayrshire, Scotland, comprising Simon Neil of Biffy Clyro and JP Reid of Sucioperro. Within the band, the pair perform under the pseudonyms The Atmosphere and The Dragon respectively. According to Neil, the band, and its albums, are "based on a trilogy of unreleased manuscripts that a friend of ours brought to this country a few years ago. We're really just working to soundtrack those stories."
Puzzle is the fourth studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro, released 4 June 2007 – the album was later released in America in August. It is the band's first album since leaving Beggars Banquet.
Simon Alexander Neil is a Scottish vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for his work in the bands Biffy Clyro, Marmaduke Duke, and also Empire State Bastard, with Mike Vennart.
"Folding Stars" is a song by Scottish band Biffy Clyro from their 2007 album, Puzzle. It was released as the third physical single from Puzzle, on 16 July 2007 and reached number 18 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Mountains" is a song by Scottish band Biffy Clyro, released as a single on 18 August 2008. Originally released as a non-album single, it would later be included on the band's fifth studio album, Only Revolutions, in 2009. It was originally entitled "Teeth or Mountains" and was first played live at the Electric Festival in Getafe, Spain, on 30 May 2008.
The discography of Biffy Clyro, a Scottish alternative rock band from Kilmarnock, consists of nine studio albums, three live albums, seven compilations, one soundtrack, six extended plays (EPs), 43 singles, 37 music videos and six other appearances. Formed in 1995 by vocalist and guitarist Simon Neil, bassist James Johnston and drummer Ben Johnston, Biffy Clyro released their debut EP thekidswhopoptodaywillrocktomorrow in 2000 through Electric Honey, and later signed with Beggars Banquet Records. The band's debut full-length album Blackened Sky was released in 2002, reaching number 25 on the Scottish Albums Chart. The Vertigo of Bliss followed in 2003, with single "Questions and Answers" reaching the top ten of the Scottish Singles Chart. The band's third and final album on Beggars Banquet, Infinity Land, peaked at number 13 in Scotland. "Glitter and Trauma", "My Recovery Injection" and "Only One Word Comes to Mind" all reached the singles chart top ten.
Only Revolutions is the fifth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro, released 9 November 2009 on 14th Floor Records. As with its predecessor, Puzzle, the album was produced by Garth Richardson. Upon release, Only Revolutions was a critical and commercial success. The album entered at No. 8 on the UK Album Chart and was then certified gold by the BPI shortly afterwards. It was certified platinum by the BPI in June 2010 for shipments of 300,000 copies in the UK, making it the band's largest selling album. In September 2010, the album achieved a new peak position of No. 3. It was the 26th biggest selling album of 2010 in the UK with sales of 377,900. It was nominated for the 2010 Mercury Prize, which is awarded annually for the best album in the UK or Ireland, and Rock Sound declared it third in its list of the 75 best albums of 2009.
"The Captain" is the third single from Biffy Clyro's fifth studio album, Only Revolutions, released on 26 October 2009. It features a prominent brass section throughout the song. The music video was released on 23 September on NME.com. The B-side "Help Me Be Captain" is an early, more raw sounding, version of the song without brass instruments.
"Many of Horror" is an alternative rock song written by Simon Neil of Scottish band Biffy Clyro for their fifth studio album Only Revolutions. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on 18 January 2010. The song was recorded at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California and mastered at Masterdisk. The lyrics of the song concern Neil's wife and family. Jacknife Lee, who previously remixed "Silhouettes" for the Biffy Clyro and Sucioperro side project Marmaduke Duke, recorded a remix for the song.
"Bubbles" is the fifth single taken from Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro's fifth studio album, Only Revolutions. Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age, Kyuss and Them Crooked Vultures provides additional lead guitar in the song. Despite being one of the lower charting songs from the album, it has spent more weeks in the top 100 than any other Biffy Clyro song.
Opposites is the sixth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro, which was released on 28 January 2013. A double album, Opposites was originally announced as a pair of albums, The Land at the End of Our Toes and The Sand at the Core of Our Bones, which later became the names of the individual discs of the album. The album features 20 songs across two discs. There is also a single disc version with 14 selected tracks. As of July 2016, the album has sold 260,720 copies in the UK.
"Wolves of Winter" is a song by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro, and the first single from the band's seventh studio album, Ellipsis. It was released on 21 March 2016 and premiered as Zane Lowe's World Record on Beats 1. It was later sent to alternative radio in the United States on 15 August 2017 as the album's sixth domestic single.
"Animal Style" is a song by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro, and the second single from the band's seventh studio album, Ellipsis. The band first performed the song live on BBC Radio 1 at Maida Vale Studios with Annie Mac. The studio version was later released on 25 May 2016 as a digital download made available at midnight on iTunes and Spotify. "Animal Style" had its live air debut on Radio 1 with Nick Grimshaw on 25 May 2016, as the band co-hosted the morning show with Grimshaw and Jack Garratt.
Balance, Not Symmetry is a soundtrack album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro to the film of the same name, co-written by the band's frontman Simon Neil. Recorded at AIR Studios in England, Monnow Valley Studio in Wales and ICP Studios in Belgium with co-producer Adam Noble, it was released on 17 May 2019 by Warner Bros. Records. Initially available only for digital download and streaming, the album was also issued as a vinyl record on 26 July 2019.
MTV Unplugged: Live at Roundhouse, London is the third live album and second video by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro. Recorded at the band's one-off acoustic show on 8 November 2017 at the Roundhouse in London as part of MTV Unplugged, it was released on 25 May 2018 by 14th Floor and Warner Bros. Records. The video was directed by Sam Wrench, produced by Sian Larkin & Executive Produced for MTV by Jeremy Davies. The show won Best Live Concert at the 2018 UK Music Video Awards. Four recordings from the release were issued as digital download singles.
A Celebration of Endings is the eighth studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro. It was produced by Rich Costey and was released on 14 August 2020. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, making it the band's third consecutive studio album to top the chart.
The Myth of the Happily Ever After is the ninth studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro, released on 22 October 2021 through 14th Floor and Warner Records. It is said to be the 'sister album' to their 2020 album A Celebration of Endings. It entered the UK album chart at number 4.
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