Biffy Clyro Debut New Songs at Isle of Wight

[NME.com] Biffy Clyro played an energetic, abrasive set at the Isle Of Wight Festival, showcasing material from their forthcoming sixth studio album.

Opening with 'Mountains', the band took to the stage in matching white boiler suits in front of a set featuring a painted backdrop of a huge tree fronted by mirrored prisms. Pyrotechnics resembling fiery teardrops dropped over the stage during 'Eleanor', while jets of smoke fired off during 'That Golden Rule'.

Of the three new songs played, 'Modern Magic Formula' was a pounding, playful, grungy track and featured the line: “I try the best I can/But there’s a white light burning in the middle of my hand/I’m tired of being exposed and I don’t know how much more of this is I can stand."

'The Joke's On Us' features typical Biffy staccato riffing, but also a strong bassline and a flavour of heavy post-punk. 'Victory Over The Sun' has a halting, uneasy rhythm with a sudden breakout into an intense, angry ending.

"Are you guys buzzing about seeing Pearl Jam as much as we are?" frontman Simon Neil asked the crowd before 'Many Of Horror', "Pretty fucking exciting, huh?".

After a ferocious take on 'Glitter And Trauma', Neil suggested "some dancing, maybe" and followed up with ‘Bubbles’. Jets of blue fire lit up the front of the stage as hundreds of bubbles drifted over the crowd. Closing with 'The Captain', Neil apologized that they couldn't play longer, saying: "If it wasn't Pearl Jam, we'd stay, but we really want to watch them."

"I thought that was brilliant, they're the best live band in the country," enthused fan Elliot Jones, 28, from London, afterwards. "The first new track they played, 'Modern Magic Formula' sounds like a massive tune already."

"The new songs were really good, I've not heard them before but I enjoyed them," said Mark Coleman, 22, from Birmingham. "Compared to some of the bands that are up here with like, 20 people, and there's just three of them, they make a good sound."

Biffy Clyro played:

'Mountains'
'That Golden Rule'
'27'
'Modern Magic Formula'
'God and Satan'
'Get Fucked Stud'
'Folding Stars'
'Who's Got a Match?'
'Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys Toys Toys'
'Many Of Horror'
'The Joke's On Us'
'Machines'
'Glitter and Trauma'
'Bubbles'
'Living Is A Problem Because Everything Dies'
'Victory Over The Sun'
'The Captain'