Album Review: Biffy Clyro - Opposites

2007's Puzzle was Biffy Clyro petulantly poking their heads above the ramparts, and follow up Only Revolutions saw them gleefully dispensing boiling oil onto the rock wannabes below. Regrettably, sixth studio album Opposites has them retreating in a hail of talk show appearances and Sunday broadsheet magazine interviews to a safe middle distance. Having made it to a BBC Radio 2 level of industry acceptance, they seem not battle weary, simply bored of the fight. Here we have more heavy melodies, more of Simon Neil's halting Celtic angst but none of the fire that earned them this platform.

It would be a mistake to call Opposites a cynical release, but press your ear to the speaker and you can hear the whisper of record label execs in the silence between the tracks. When Kings Of Leon switched up their sound and aimed squarely at the stadiums with Only By The Night it was still exciting, because the songwriting and production were top notch. Paradoxically, Opposites' acquiescence to what may or may not be external pressure results in the record sitting in a sonic hinterland between the pub and the arena. Biffy sound directionless and diluted, and there is no hiding place for tired lyrics that all too often border on trite.

The game has changed again for Biffy and the dearth of appetite here suggests they are wondering whether to take their ball and go home. There are 14 passable songs on the Australian release of Opposites, but longtime fans may well be left wondering where the passion went – not angry, but disappointed.