Ellipsis (Biffy Clyro album)

Ellipsis is the seventh studio album by Scottish alternative rock band Biffy Clyro. It was produced by Rich Costey and released on 8 July 2016. Ellipsis entered the UK charts at number one, making it Biffy Clyro's second number one album (after 2013's Opposites).

Ellipsis
Studio album by Biffy Clyro
Released	8 July 2016
Recorded	2015–2016
Studio	Eldorado Recording Studios, Burbank, California and Foxy Studios Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Alternative rock
Length	38:57
Label	14th Floor, Warner Bros.
Producer	Biffy Clyro, Rich Costey
Biffy Clyro chronology
Similarities (2014) Ellipsis (2016) MTV Unplugged: Live at Roundhouse, London (2018)
Singles from Ellipsis
"Wolves of Winter" Released: 21 March 2016 "Animal Style" Released: 25 May 2016 "Howl" Released: 4 August 2016[1] "Re-Arrange" Released: 24 November 2016[2] "Flammable" Released: 18 January 2017[3] "Friends and Enemies" Released: 3 May 2017

Background

Confirmation that the band was working on a new record came in early 2014, with frontman Simon Neil telling Radio X in an interview that they had written "about 14 songs so far", stating that the album was projected for possible release by the end of 2015.[4] He also commented saying that the band was due to take a break from public involvement to bring themselves away from the spotlight following touring in support of their 2013 album, Opposites.

The band took 2015 as a "year off" from public appearances, as they did not want fans to tire of seeing them,[5] although they did play a one off show as the headline act in Edinburgh's Hogmanay Concert in the Gardens, where they debuted a new song "On a Bang".[6] The band recorded the majority of the album in Burbank, California following drummer Ben Johnston's claims that they would visit somewhere "exotic" to record it as a change of pace from their home country of Scotland. The band took a similar approach in 2012 while working on the previous record, travelling to West Los Angeles, California to record the majority of the album.

In January 2016, the band discussed the album with NME, calling it the "best record we've made",[7] and revealing John Waters and hip-hop artist A$AP Rocky as influences of the sound of the new music.

In the days leading up to 21 March 2016, the band's official YouTube channel released snippets from the album's first single, "Wolves of Winter", announcing the date of the single's release. On 21 March, the videos were removed, and replaced by a 1:30 long preview of the song announcing the name and release date of the album.[8] The song was first played in full on 21 March during Zane Lowe's Hottest Record on Beats 1,[9] and again later during Annie Mac's World's Hottest Record on Radio 1. Lead singer Simon Neil appeared on both broadcasts to speak about the album and reveal some extra details about the background of the single.[10]

Artwork and releases

A limited edition Ellipsis box set has been made available to pre-order exclusively on the band's official store site. The full set includes two 180g heavyweight vinyl records, a 7" single ("Wolves of Winter"), a hard-cover book featuring photos and lyrics, hand-written lyrics from Simon Neil, and several prints signed by band members. It also includes a full digital copy of the album on release, and a downloadable MP3 of the album's first single.[11]

The album's finalised artwork was released on 8 April 2016 via the band's official website[12] and Instagram pages.[13]

The standard album features 11 tracks, with a 13-track "Deluxe" edition released alongside the original.[14][15][16] The deluxe edition of the album also contains an additional video when purchased on iTunes.[17]

Accolades

Publication	Accolade	Year	Rank	Ref.
NME	NME's Albums of the Year 2016	2016	26	[18]

Track listing

Songs and lyrics by Simon Neil, music by Biffy Clyro except where noted.

Ellipsis – Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Wolves of Winter"		4:08
2.	"Friends and Enemies"		4:12
3.	"Animal Style"	Simon Neil John Feldmann	3:30
4.	"Re-Arrange"		3:37
5.	"Herex"		3:57
6.	"Medicine"		3:53
7.	"Flammable"	Simon Neil busbee	3:07
8.	"On a Bang"		2:38
9.	"Small Wishes"		3:06
10.	"Howl"	Simon Neil Gary Lightbody Johnny McDaid	3:33
11.	"People"		3:16
Total length:			38:57

Ellipsis – Deluxe edition

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Don't, Won't, Can't"	3:18
13.	"In the Name of the Wee Man"	4:25
Total length:		46:40

Personnel

Biffy Clyro

• Simon Neil – lead vocals, guitars
• James Johnston – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Ben Johnston – drums, backing vocals, percussion

Production

• Rich Costey – production, additional editing
• Biffy Clyro – co-production
• James Rushent – programming and additional production on "Wolves of Winter"
• John Feldmann – additional production and recording on "Animal Style"
• Martin Cooke – engineering
• Nicolas Fournier – engineering
• Mario Borgatta – engineering assistance
• Zak Corvine – additional engineering on "Animal Style"
• Matt Pauling – additional engineering on "Animal Style"
• Allie Snow – engineering assistance on "Animal Style"
• Zach Tuch – engineering assistance on "Animal Style"
• Vlado Meller – mastering
• Jeremy Lubsey – mastering assistance
• Ian Sefchick – vinyl mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2016) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 15 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 5 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 37 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 36 Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[23] 13 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[24] 10 French Albums (SNEP)[25] 74 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[26] 1 Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[27] 14 Irish Albums (IRMA)[28] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[29] 29 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[30] 33 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[31] 21 Portuguese Albums (AFP)[32] 38 Scottish Albums (OCC)[33] 1 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[34] 21 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[35] 49 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[36] 1 UK Albums (OCC)[37] 1 US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[38] 11

Year-end charts Chart (2016) Position UK Albums (OCC)[39] 59

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[40]	Gold	100,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. http://www.biffyclyro.com/news,new-video-for-howl_1757.htm
2. "BBC – Radio 1 – Playlist". BBC. Archived from the original on 26 November 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
3. http://www.biffyclyro.com/news,new-video-for-flammable_1782.htm
4. "Biffy Clyro reveal new album plans". NME. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
5. "Biffy Clyro call 2015 their 'year off'". NME. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
6. "'On A Bang' - The First Taste Of Biffy Clyro's Next Album – Is An Uncompromising, Direct And Immediate Example Of The Trio At Their Heaviest". NME. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
7. "Biffy Clyro talk new album: 'It's the best record we've made, it's pint-in-the-face rock'". NME. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
8. Biffy Clyro (21 March 2016), Biffy Clyro - Wolves Of Winter (Preview), retrieved 22 March 2016 – via YouTube
9. "Biffy Clyro announce new album 'Ellipsis' - hear new song 'Wolves Of Winter'". NME. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
10. "Biffy Clyro's Simon Neil Reveals All About New Single 'Wolves Of Winter'". NME. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
11. "Biffy Clyro - Ellipsis Box Set". store.biffyclyro.com. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
12. Ltd, Isle Interactive (8 April 2016). "ELLIPSIS ALBUM ARTWORK". Biffy Clyro. Retrieved 9 April 2016.
13. "Biffy Clyro on Instagram: "#Ellipsis"". Retrieved 9 April 2016 – via Instagram.
14. Biffy Clyro, "Ellipsis", Amazon.co.uk, retrieved 22 March 2016
15. Biffy Clyro, "Ellipsis", Amazon.co.uk, retrieved 22 March 2016
16. "Ellipsis by Biffy Clyro on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
17. "Ellipsis (Deluxe) by Biffy Clyro on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
18. "NME's Albums of the Year 2016". NME. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
19. "Australiancharts.com – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
20. "Austriancharts.at – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
21. "Ultratop.be – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
22. "Ultratop.be – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
24. "Biffy Clyro: Ellipsis" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
25. "Lescharts.com – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
26. "Offiziellecharts.de – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
27. "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2016. 27. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
28. "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 28, 2016". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
29. "Album – Classifica settimanale WK 28 (dal 2016-07-08 al 2016-07-15)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
30. "Charts.nz – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
31. "Norwegiancharts.com – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
32. "Portuguesecharts.com – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 July 2016.
33. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
34. "Spanishcharts.com – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
35. "Swedishcharts.com – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 July 2016.
36. "Swisscharts.com – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis". Hung Medien. Retrieved 17 July 2016.
37. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2016.
38. "Biffy Clyro Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
39. "End of Year Album Chart Top 100 – 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 December 2016.
40. "British album certifications – Biffy Clyro – Ellipsis". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 December 2016. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Ellipsis in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

• Official website