The Vertigo of Bliss
The Vertigo of Bliss is the second studio album by Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro. Produced with the band by Chris Sheldon, it was released by Beggars Banquet Records on 16 June 2003. The album reached number 48 on the UK Albums Chart, and spawned four singles. A deluxe remastered edition was released in 2012, which featured, in addition to the original 13 album tracks, a number of B-sides from the album's singles.
Cover artwork
The album cover for The Vertigo of Bliss was designed by comic book artist Milo Manara. Despite raising some controversy, the artwork was praised by music magazine ShortList who named it in their list of "The 50 Coolest Album Covers Ever", explaining that the "erotic and controversial" cover "only endeared [Biffy] more to the small but loyal fanbase they were beginning to cultivate".[1]
Reception
Critical reception to Biffy Clyro's second album was generally positive. Writing for newspaper The Guardian, Betty Clarke awarded the album four out of five stars, calling it "inventive and sublime".[2] Praising singles "Questions and Answers" and "Eradicate the Doubt" in particular, Clarke praised the band for "juggling anger with adoration as they take indie sensitivity and embolden it with blistering rock fury", and said that the album "crackles with certainty".[2]
Track listing
All lyrics written by Simon Neil; all music composed by Biffy Clyro.
|
1. | "Bodies in Flight" | 5:17 |
2. | "The Ideal Height" | 3:41 |
3. | "With Aplomb" | 5:29 |
4. | "A Day Of..." | 2:24 |
5. | "Liberate the Illiterate/A Mong Among Mingers" | 5:28 |
6. | "Diary of Always" | 4:04 |
7. | "Questions and Answers" | 4:02 |
8. | "Eradicate the Doubt" | 4:26 |
9. | "When the Faction's Fractioned" | 3:36 |
10. | "Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys" | 5:28 |
11. | "All the Way Down: Prologue Chapter 1" | 6:43 |
12. | "A Man of His Appalling Posture" | 3:25 |
13. | "Now the Action Is on Fire!" (features hidden track "Ewen's True Mental You") | 8:01 |
Total length: | 62:04 |
|
|
14. | "Ewen's True Mental You" | 1:37 |
15. | "...And with the Scissorkick Is Victorious" | 5:24 |
16. | "Do You Remember What You Came For?" | 3:31 |
17. | "Good Practice Makes Permanent" | 4:19 |
18. | "Let's Get Smiling" | 3:04 |
19. | "Muckquaikerjawbreaker" | 4:10 |
20. | "I Hope You're Done" | 3:40 |
Total length: | 87:49 |
Personnel
- Biffy Clyro
- Additional musicians
|
- Production personnel
- Chris Sheldon – production, recording and engineering (all tracks except 17–20), mixing
- Phil English – engineering
- Sam Miller – engineering
- DP Johnson – production (tracks 17–20)
- S.A.G. – production (tracks 17–20)
|
- Additional personnel
|
Release history
References
|
---|
|
Studio albums | |
---|
Live albums | |
---|
Extended plays | |
---|
Compilations | |
---|
Singles | |
---|
Tours | |
---|
Related articles | |
---|