The Scottish rock trio’s last album, 2013’s Opposites, was a proggy double epic, so naturally, Ellipsis is a tauter, rawer beast, with fewer anthems and more war cries, led by Wolves of Winter’s growling, territorial romp and the chugging, brutal Animal Style. Ellipsis is nothing so simple, though, as a return to the jagged energy of their early, pre-stadium albums; Friends and Enemies begins so poppily it could be Chvrches, but for the crunching guitars, while Re-Arrange slips into some R&B style, Herex a malevolent reggae groove, and Small Wishes a dippily demented country flourish. Though they’re now festival headliners, chart-toppers and X Factor cover material, it’s clear the fierce, weird and wonderful Biffy still have plenty of ambition.
