Puzzle

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)

Nice find. Cheers!

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...

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

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

Listenable 4

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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.