A Celebration of Endings

A Celebration of Endings is the eighth[note 1] studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro. It was produced by Rich Costey and was released on 14 August 2020. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, making it the band's third consecutive studio album to top the chart.

A Celebration of Endings
Studio album by
Biffy Clyro
Released14 August 2020 (2020-08-14)
Recorded2019
Studio
GenreAlternative rock[1]
Length45:19
Label
Producer
Biffy Clyro chronology
Balance, Not Symmetry
(2019)		 A Celebration of Endings
(2020)
Singles from A Celebration of Endings
  1. "Instant History"
    Released: 20 February 2020
  2. "End Of"
    Released: 5 March 2020
  3. "Tiny Indoor Fireworks"
    Released: 14 May 2020
  4. "Weird Leisure"
    Released: 30 July 2020
  5. "Space"
    Released: 13 August 2020
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.9/10[2]
Metacritic84/100[3]
Review scores
SourceRating
American Songwriter[4]
Classic Rock[5]
DIY[6]
The Independent[7]
Kerrang!5/5[8]
Mojo[9]
NME[10]
The Observer[11]
Q[12]
Uncut8/10[13]

Background

The band confirmed they were working on new material in an NME interview in July 2019,[14] having released their soundtrack album Balance, Not Symmetry a few months earlier. Another NME interview in October 2019 confirmed the release of the album, with the working title Opus 8, for the 'first half of next year'.[15]

The first single, "Instant History", was released on 20 February 2020, and first played on Annie Mac's BBC Radio 1 show.

The album was initially planned for release of 15 May 2020, but was pushed back to 14 August due to the coronavirus pandemic.[16]

Critical reception

The album received critical acclaim upon release. On review aggregate website Metacritic, the album has an average score of 84 out of 100, indicating "universal acclaim," based on 16 reviews.[3] Kerrang! gave the album a perfect score, stating that "Biffy Clyro have delivered an album of restless invention, substance and style that arrives like a spray of water on the arid expanse of this saddest of summers."[8] The Independent also gave the album a positive review, writing that the album "soothes, shakes and surprises at every turn".[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Simon Neil; additional writers listed.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."North of No South" 4:05
2."The Champ" 3:37
3."Weird Leisure" 4:08
4."Tiny Indoor Fireworks" 3:16
5."Worst Type of Best Possible" 3:50
6."Space"Steve Mac3:56
7."End Of" 4:37
8."Instant History"Steve Mac, Ammar Malik3:31
9."The Pink Limit" 3:55
10."Opaque" 4:07
11."Cop Syrup" (Collector's Edition contains hidden track "Less is More") 6:17
Total length:45:19

Personnel

Biffy Clyro

Additional personnel

  • Zac Rae – additional keyboards
  • Steve Mac – additional Keyboards
  • Rob Mathes – string arrangements and conducting
  • Jenny Nendick – conducting
  • Jackie Shave – concertmaster (1st violin)
  • Magnus Johnston – violin
  • Perry Montague-Mason – violin
  • Patrick Kiernan – violin
  • Pete Hanson – violin
  • Natalia Bonner – violin
  • Cathy Thompson – violin
  • Debbie Widdup – violin
  • Jonathan Evans-Jones – violin
  • Chris Tombling – violin
  • Bruce White – viola
  • Peter Lale – viola
  • Rachel Roberts – viola
  • Caroline Dearley – cello
  • Ian Burdge – cello
  • Jonathan Williams – cello
  • Caroline Dearley – cello

Production

  • Rich Costey – production, mixing
  • Steve Mac – production
  • James Rushent – additional production
  • Chris Laws – additional programming and engineering
  • Joe La Porta – mastering
  • Jonathan Allen – string recording
  • Paul Pritchard – string recording assistant
  • Neil Dawes – string recording assistant
  • KT Pipal – engineering
  • Mario Borgatta – engineering
  • Wesley M. Seidman – engineering
  • Cecil Barlett – engineering
  • Dann Pursey – engineering
  • Koby Merman – additional mix engineering and digital editing
  • Dalton Ricks – additional mix engineering
  • Ross Newbauer – additional mix engineering

Artwork and design

  • Thomas Robson – cover artwork
  • Simon Neil – additional artwork, art direction
  • Richard Welland – art direction
  • Ash Reynolds – photography

Charts
Chart performance for A Celebration of Endings
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[17] 21
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[18] 5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] 77
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] 127
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] 23
French Albums (SNEP)[22] 104
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 4
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[24] 6
Irish Albums (OCC)[25] 2
Italian Albums (FIMI)[26] 82
Scottish Albums (OCC)[27] 1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] 42
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 4
UK Albums (OCC)[30] 1

Notes
  1. The band referred to the album using the working title Opus 8. This numbering does not include the soundtrack album Balance, Not Symmetry from 2019. See also: Biffy Clyro discography

References
  1. "Biffy Clyro – "A Celebration of Endings"". Everything Is Noise. 4 September 2020. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
  2. "A Celebration Of Endings by Biffy Clyro reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  3. "A Celebration of Endings by Biffy Clyro". Metacritic. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  4. Grunenberg, Kira (11 August 2020). "Biffy Clyro Takes Its Music To Another Level on 'A Celebration of Endings'". American Songwriter. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  5. Wilding, Philip (14 August 2020). "Biffy Clyro: A Celebration Of Endings might be the beginning of something". Classic Rock. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  6. Jamieson, Sarah (13 August 2020). "Biffy Clyro - A Celebration of Endings". DIY. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  7. Beaumont, Mark (13 August 2020). "Biffy Clyro expertly mix gloss and grime on A Celebration of Endings – review". The Independent. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  8. Winwood, Ian (13 August 2020). "Album Review: Biffy Clyro – A Celebration Of Endings". Kerrang!. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  9. Garner, George (16 April 2020). Mojo. p. 88. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. Trendell, Andrew (13 August 2020). "Biffy Clyro – 'A Celebration Of Endings' album review". NME. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  11. Empire, Kitty (16 August 2020). "Biffy Clyro: A Celebration of Endings review – smiley vs gnarly". The Observer. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
  12. Everley, Dave (28 July 2020). "Square Pegs". Q. p. 112.
  13. Cochrane, Greg (14 July 2020). Uncut. p. 27. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. "Biffy Clyro give us an update on their "rocking opus" of a new album". NME. 23 July 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  15. "Biffy Clyro confirm their next album will arrive in "first half" of next year". NME. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
  16. "Biffy Clyro delay 'A Celebration of Endings' album due to the coronavirus". NME. 27 March 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  17. "Australiancharts.com – Biffy Clyro – A Celebration of Endings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  18. "Austriancharts.at – Biffy Clyro – A Celebration of Endings" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  19. "Ultratop.be – Biffy Clyro – A Celebration of Endings" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  20. "Ultratop.be – Biffy Clyro – A Celebration of Endings" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  21. "Dutchcharts.nl – Biffy Clyro – A Celebration of Endings" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  22. "Top Albums (Week 34, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  23. "Offiziellecharts.de – Biffy Clyro – A Celebration of Endings" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  24. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2020. 34. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  25. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  26. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 34 (dal 14.08.2020 al 20.08.2020)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  27. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
  28. "Top 100 Albumes – Semana 34: del 14.8.2020 al 20.8.2020" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  29. "Swisscharts.com – Biffy Clyro – A Celebration of Endings". Hung Medien. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 August 2020.
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