New album free of pretense, genre expectations, say members

When three childhood friends, including a pair of siblings, started the band Biffy Clyro over 10 years ago in Kilmarnock, Scotland, they strived to make music that was “as weird as possible.”

“That’s what we thought was good,” said Simon Neil, the group’s lead vocalist, guitarist and songwriter, in an interview.

The band, which is also made up of twin brothers drummer James Johnston and bassist Ben Johnston, met with The Korea Herald before performing at its first show in Korea at the Jisan Valley Rock Music & Arts Festival on Sunday.

(From left) Simon Neil, James Johnston and Ben Johnston of Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro (CJ E&M)

Over the past decade, the rock band has topped U.K. charts with the 2014 album “Opposites,” performed alongside bands like the Foo Fighters and headlined festivals. After all this time, Biffy -- as the bandmates call themselves -- now appreciates the power of simplicity, and wants to abandon all pretenses when it comes to music.

The band’s earlier albums had featured highly experimental rock, but their post-2007 albums are easier to follow. “Ellipsis,” Biffy’s seventh and most recent album released on July 8, could mark the band’s most colorful, but approachable, brand of rock yet.

“It’s our most to-the-point record, our most concise album,” Neil said of the record, which includes tracks such as “Rearrange” that blends pop and R&B, and tunes verging on country such as “Small Wishes.”

“We weren’t worried about genre. Some of our previous records, we wanted them to be a rock and roll journey. This time we just concentrated on the songs, whether they were country, R&B or metal. Just the songs turning us on was important,” he explained.

The bandmates took the same approach in shooting the album cover, which depicts the three members lying in a row in a fetal position to form a sort of human ellipsis. The members are also stripped of all clothing, laying bare the elaborate tattoos on their bodies.

“We wanted something minimal, stark,” Neil said, adding that they hoped it could pay tribute to the late graphic designer Storm Thorgerson who passed away in 2013.

“It felt like we’d never made a record before this album. The image signifies how we’re trying to be reborn, embrace our naivete, discard any second skins that were picked up over the years, and just be fresh again,” said Neil.

“It could’ve ended up really funny, but James was brave enough to go first. We saw the picture and it was actually an intense moment. It was intimate and had a power to it,” he added.

The band is returning after a yearlong hiatus in 2015 to “disappear so people don’t get sick of the lovely Biffy,” said its members in past interviews.

“The first few months were spent on the couch,” said James. Ben did “everyday things, like taming the garden, washing the car.” He confessed he soon “missed the craziness,” itching to get back into the studio.

Neil heartily agreed. “It’s a relief. I can’t really switch off from music,” said the songwriter, who recorded an electronic album called “ZZC,” a side project, during his time away from Biffy. “So there’ll be no more hiatuses for us for a while.”

The band will be touring Romania, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Belgium and the U.K. in August.

By Rumy Doo (doo@heraldcorp.com)