NME Reviews

Biffy Clyro

Biffy Clyro

Biffy Clyro

Machines

You’d get good odds on any band with the word ‘Biffy’ in its name becoming one of the planet’s finest purveyors of intelligent hard rock, but crikey, Ayrshire’s bearded heroes are on the way to pulling it off. ‘Machines’ shows them in reflective, romantic and delightful form. At various points it veers rather close to sounding like ‘Nothing Ever Happens’, Del Amitri’s masterpoo of miserablism, but it’s kept in check by the lovely deployment of mournful cellos, and manfully resists the temptation to ruin all that loveliness by rocking out. Sometimes, the key to being really, really rock is to not rock at all.

Add your comment

NME Alerts

Get NME news delivered direct to your desktop. Find out more

Please sign in

Forgot your password?

Register with MyNME

Every Tuesday

  • Breaking News stories
  • All you need to know about the week's NME magazine
  • Live, Album and Track reviews
  • Tip offs about the most important Gigs
  • All the latest NME.COM video exclusives

Every Friday

  • NME.COM's free mini-magazine
  • Gig listings for the weekend
  • All the most important Album and Track reviews
  • The week's biggest News stories
  • Competitions - with exclusive music prizes
  • plus loads more!

In The Magazine

This Week's Issue
  • The ultimate guide to the week in music
  • Agenda-setting news and fiery comment
  • Must-read interviews with the planet's hottest bands
  • Hundreds of UK gigs listed every week
  • Unrivalled access to the artists that matter
  • Subscribe today and get 1/3rd off NME