Puzzle

This is some really good early 2000s rock with some interesting twists. Like the choir and the orchestral instrumentation supporting the tracks “Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies” and “9/15ths”. I really dig that… and the “bonus hidden track” interludes that make little sense today as such but were nice transitions. Very catchy and I’m sure this would grow on me even more with time. Real-time follow-up - since I wrote this I had the chance to listen again and liked it even more...

My wife’s favourite band, so Iv always had a bit of a strange relationship with Biffy Clyro, they are far too overplayed in my house, but probably under appreciated in the real world. I do think Puzzle is the last good album before they went too mainstream with their sound. My favourite album is infinite land, where my wife is still obsessed with blackened sky. This is obviously more accessible than both of these, but still edgy enough to be better than only revolutions. But if you were to ask me what album someone who’s never listened to biffy should start with it would probably be this one.

Rating: 9/10 Best songs: Living is a problem because everything dies, Saturday superhouse, Who’s got a match?, A whole child ago, Semi-mental, Love has a diameter, 9/15ths

Mon the Biff! Loving that this showed up. This isn't as proggy and weird as their early stuff, not as mainstream as their latter content...while it isn't the peak of their output it is a great glimpse. I've loved this group for a long time and even have MMORPG characters long named for them. This is a fun entry to see.

Mon the Biff! The album after this was my introduction to Biffy - it was impossible to escape the Mountains video on Kerrang TV for a few months - and I absolutely loved it but it took me a little while to go back to their earlier stuff - in fact I don’t think I listened further until hearing their Revolutions live album from Wembley. Their first three albums (which I now really enjoy) kind of scared me at the time, but Puzzle was a fascinating blend of that odd and heavier earlier work with the shout-along hooks and gorgeous ballads of the slightly poppier Only Revolutions. I’ve seen them three times now and Living is a Problem… (the opener to Puzzle) is always ridiculously fun in a live setting, while the soaring Folding Stars and the delicate Machines are both incredibly powerful. Some of the deeper cuts on the album are really fun too - the drum groove of A Whole Child Ago always sticks with me, Now I’m Everyone is super catchy, Love Has a Diameter has that stupid hummingbird lyric, and 9/15ths just sounds absolutely massive. It’s just an incredibly consistent record, and a landmark release from a very prolific band at their most ambitious and impactful As an aside - this was also the era where Biffy started writing great B-sides as well, and the sister album to Puzzle (Missing Pieces) has some bangers on it as well (and sadly is significantly better than anything they’ve released in the last 10 years)

Oh fuck yeah! Fantastic album!! Thank you!!!

Finally a proper addition to the original list. Never heard it before or listened to them. Top album

Nice find. Cheers!

Listenable 4

Fun rock in a very Foo Fighters vibe. Stronger emphasis on melodies and hooks give it a more pop feel that works. Enjoyed.

Fourth studio album! Fourth studio album! Fourth studio album! Sounds a bit like JImmy Eat World, or maybe they sound like Biffy Clyro. Good album.

Completely new to me. Starts incredibly strong and stays strong. Loved it! A good choice to share.

I can't quite give it a 5, but I adore this album.

Awesome album.

Great in places

Beloved Scottish alt rock band from the 2000s that takes distinct influence from emo. There's some Jimmy Eat World and Sunny Day Real Estate in here, but Biffy Clyro manages to put their own spin on it so it sounds fresh. Some clear highlights that it makes me think that there's a clear reason why this was such a huge step for the band's success. Great album all in all, very enjoyable. CONTENDER FOR THE LIST: The list desperately needs other landmark emo/alt rock albums before it gets to this band, but I wouldn't say no.

Way better than I expected....

Tuli kuunneltua bändin eri levyjä... Kyllä tämä on se paras. Kaikki biisit uniilkeja kokonaisuuksia ja muutenkin hyvän kuullosta settiä

That was absolutely some rock music. A pleasant and unchallenging, easy listening record. Rating: 3.5 Playlist track: Folding Stars Date listened: 07/01/25

It's fine. It's one of those many forgettable albums that plagued the original list. It's not bad, but it's not great. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Poo Fighters.

This one left me cold. First time listening to this band and I'd heard Biffy Clyro described it as complex, emotionally intense, and even a bit mathy. But Puzzle delivers none of that. Instead, it’s polished, straightforward arena rock with big choruses and surprisingly shallow lyrics. Most of the songs blur together without much bite or depth. Apparently, after reading some of the reviews here I’ll be needing to check out their earlier, rougher work. Which I will be doing. This one isn't for me.

The original list and user submissions are both trying their hardest to convince me that Franz Ferdinand was the only good rock band to ever come out of Scotland

Never heard of this group before. The first 30 seconds had me worried it was going to be intentionally annoying. Then it got good. Hella good. It's very early 2000s but holy hell. This record is great!

Don't know why, bit I was expecting something heavier

Woah what a surprise! I really try my best not to judge a book by its cover, but after nearly 1,300 albums, it is somewhat inevitable. I will be honest and say that the name "Biffy Clyro" and the description of "Scottish alternative rock band" kind of set me up to hate this. And then I put it on and enjoyed the entire duration! More pop punk than alternative rock. This feels perhaps a little late to the party in 2007, but I really enjoy their chorus hooks and the sort of emo lyrics. Would happily discover more of their music.

This is a great mix of Foo Fighters / Punk Pop / breakdowns / and emotions that will tug at your stupid little Millenial heart. Just wish I could trim a little off the fat of this one and it’d be a solid five for me. Still will probably come back

I liked it, but I can't explain why...

Never heard of this band before, seems like pretty run of the mill millennial rock with some very domesticated thrash pedigree. Didn't dislike it, didn't really stick with me.

They play very well, they have good music, they are balanced but their songs did not motivate me, I don't know, something is missing. Maybe a couple of hits that define the album more.

There are quite some decent songs on this album, but all-in-all I think there are quite some bands that execute this genre better.

I've heard these guys before. It's average rock. I played it without getting sick of it. Not much else to say about it really. 3/5.

This album was fine, well-played but fairly unmemorable. Feels a bit dated for what was going on musically in 2007. Fave Songs: Machines, As Dust Dances, Folding Stars, Saturday Superhouse, Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies

I remember when Biffy Clyro was all Radio 1 would talk about. I never really got it. They were more emo than I remember, and I see that as a good thing!

A really fine album with great performances. Too bad everything is just not that special and none of the songs lifts it to a higher level.

Rock alternativo, metal alternativo. Ni fu ni fa.

Don some heavy eyeliner, refer to the things as "Random", and play this album. It's 2007 and you're feeling a little emo.

This was an unexpectedly good album for what it is. Aside from that long bass drum intro this whole album was solid. The 00s alternative style is consistent throughout with a minor dash of despair. The instrumentals are strong and the singer toes the line of alternative and emo rock sound. Lyrically it’s a good collection of songs. Overall pretty good. 6.8/10

Cliffy Biro.

Yet another album that I’m almost certain is from a millennial Reddit user. This felt like a mix of death cab for cutie and neutral milk hotel or something.

I would go 3.5 stars on this one. A great mix of eclectic hard rock songs.

3.5

Just not getting this band. I think it's a 'Bovril' thing..... It's not that it's bad, just a bit generic.

This was the album where I stopped listening to Biffy. Its fine but I preferred the other stuff.

It was not bad but won’t be revisiting.

A British second-rate version of Foo Fighters, itself an offshoot of greater things in the nineties (should I really need to explain why Dave Grohl's band can be considered as such here?). Decent and even well crafted at times, but ultimately secondary in the grand scheme of things, 1001-Albums-wise. Three pivotal issues are plaguing this record. A) a lack of memorable choruses in too many tracks, which is always a big problem when you're writing and playing that sort of melodic alt-rock. You have quite a few catchy hooks, but that's the minimum required for that genre. B) wishing to "expand their sound", Biffy Clyro got the respective meanings of the adjectives "epic" and "streamlined" confused somehow. Of course, it did them good on a commercial level (even more so on follow-up album *Only Revolutions*), but two decades down the line, the lack of real stakes is more than apparent. "GGGarth"'s production values are massive enough (even if a notch under your usual Foo Fighter LP in the same time period), but now said production sounds devoid of that special off-kilter grain that could have made the man's efforts immune to old age. C) one last comparison with Foo Fighters that's unfavorable to Biffy Clyro, the vocals. Dave Grohl's voice will always be more impressive -- and even moving on many highlights -- thanks to that gravelly timber of his. Simon Neil's voice is far meeker, and therefore not immune to ridicule at times given the things he attempts to do here. Redeeming factors? Maybe the prog-rock influences when they are subtly handled or even subliminal (like that nice Hammond organ far in the background of "Now I'm Everyone"'s *truly* epic finale). Which is unfortunately not the case in the existential, Albert Camus-inspired opener "Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies". Worse than the clichéed orchestral arrangements there, you have to bear with that supposedly "grand" intro to the song, trying to create "suspense" through rhythmical spurts. The worst idea ever on a musical level. I understand that this is tied to the theme of the song (see its title), but the result just sounds bad and awkward, period. In that realm, see also pointless interlude "9/15th". No, the most important redeeming factor that I can see here is when Biffy Clyro deliver songs lively and memorable enough (there's three of them: math-rock-influenced "Now I'm Everyone", "Semi-Mental" and its roaring chorus, and also "Saturday Superhouse" to a degree). The rest is not bad (usually), hence my somewhat benevolent grading in spite of my harsh criticism up there. But those other songs are quickly forgettable. If you're interested in that overall genre, and yet looking for something sounding authentic enough -- with a collection of bangers from start to finish in one single LP, and with a vocal performance reaching the intended emotional level -- I suggest you to discover the last two albums of French band Daria instead. Far less streams there, of course, and far less dough injected into the production. But the songs are simply better, and the arrangements more propulsive. A healthy dose of post-hardcore will always be necessary to glue that sort of alt-rock puzzle with pop inclinations together. Otherwise all the pieces end up falling in the floor for me. 2.5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums, rounded up to 3. 7.5/10 for more general purposes (5 + 2.5) Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 30 Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 40 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 75 (including this one) --- Émile, il y a déjà une partie de mes réponses au-dessus. Il y en aura d'autres en dessous..

entirely forgettable but has nice hooks.

Cool record!

Not bad… a bit like Muse. Not my thing though.

Rock alternativo, metal alternativo. No me ha molestado escucharlo, pero me deja igual.

Rock alternativo, metal alternativo. Ni fu ni fa.

Enjoyable enough.

Undeniably high-energy and kinetic but too insistent in the ALT style (e.g., the strings to dial up the intensity in the first cut and the repeated staccato phrases which seem like a crutch [as well as being a major annoyance for this listener at least]). Not sure this stands out among the early-aughtie indie explosion (so-called), which doesn't say a ton for their originality. Lotta Foo Fighters energy (e.g., "Semi-Mental"). The bass is too bouncy too often. "A Whole Child Ago" woulda been sensational as a cover of Barry Manilow's "Looks Like We Made It" (file under lost opportunity). Rounding up because of the wisdom of this sentiment "Living Is a Problem Because Everything Dies," but then rounding down for a very iffy choice of a band name.

This may be the first Scottish album that I haven't given 4 stars to. This is one of those where it comes down more to a matter of opinion than anything, but this brand of rock largely passed me by, and doesn't really grab me when I hear it now. I think the music sounds good overall, and the production is excellent. The vocals are good to, it's just that none of it is my style 3/5 A tragic day for the great nation of Scotland

Why the American accent?

I could tell right away I wasn't going to like this at all. I made it through 4 songs but that was enough for me, just not my thing. 2 stars.

An LP focused entirely on some sort of anger and bitterness, but at what? There’s never a strong enough narrative focus to narrow down the gist of the band’s intent, and coupled with elementary school songwriting/wildly varying instrumentation choices, the album feels unfocused and poorly constructed. Some creative bits of guitar here and there that I liked, but there wasn’t much else I took away from this one

Lyrically dud, pretentious, annoying

Congrats to these guys for making the most generic and uninspired rock album of 2007. Has to be one of the most annoying ways to open an album I’ve ever heard.

I didn't enjoy Puzzle all that much, it was a little lo-fi for my liking, wanted something heavier and I'm sure I've heard that from them even though I've never quite been into them enough to listen even semi-regularly. I liked Now I'm Everyone, don't really recall anything jumping out at me, 2/5.

Just a bit dry for me. I once stood through their set at a festival to get near the front for the next act, and felt bad as a lot of people loved it but I was a bit bored.

It didn’t really break any new sound horizons for me but it’s respectable up-and-down 00s rock that I heretofore had not heard. Reminded me of The Killers and Manic Street Preachers. Not bad company, I guess. Maybe not Bad Company, either.

This is awful boring rock. Was going to go 2 stars till the song Now I’m Everyone which just repeats what sounds like “This is a one” over and over. And so this is!

Nope.