To understand that it's sometimes hello and sometimes goodbye.

Heylo there, well it’s arrived, by that I mean Nathalie is now a big sister, to a little Girl. It’s weird I’ve of course not been really connected to all of these baby goings on because I’m just her boyfriend person but I’ve been there more often than not over the last month and a half and I’ve felt all their trials personally, I’ve lost sleep so I can only think how happy they are about it all, I wonder if the enormity of it all has sunk in for them yet, most of all Nathalie. If she’s anything like my sister, who was 12 when my mum had me quite late she probably thought she’d never have a brother or sister. My sister hated me when we had to live in the same place, but once she moved out I became less of a burden more of a little brother. I guess people take to it all differently.

I’d be reporting all of this in much greater detail if it weren’t for the fact that with every happy moment there always seems to be a bit of sadness, Nathalie has been away at the funeral of someone she loved very dearly, although the exact relation escapes me at the moment, her mum talked to me about her once, taking Nat when she was very little into the house and coming out both dressed up as a cats to do ballet. Going from that story alone I can see why she’s going to be missed.

It’s made me think about my nana. Which is the only person close to me that I’ve ever known to die, with the age of my parents meaning that all the other grandparents already popping off to the shops she was the only real old representative of the Marshall family a title which now falls on her three children I guess. One who stole off my dad, one who abandoned us and went off to live in Devon and that won’t reply to our letters and my dad, who’s probably just about cantankerous enough to be an elder of our family all said

But having someone crying on you makes me think that I’ve never cried about her ever, not even when I was at the funeral, part of me thinks I was too young, part of me thinks I’m an emotionless freak.

I don’t deal with deal well, I fear I’ll be inconsolable when my dad goes, but he seems not to care, he smokes enough to have been dead ten years ago at least.

I don’t think any of us value what we’ve got as much as we should, go out, make babies, buy carpets, hug naked, drink tea, lie in the grass, feed the ducks, live live and live some more because your life is what you do with it, don’t just sit around and wait for it to end and then complain that you never had the chance.

Lets take the rough with the smooth. This time anyway.

Biffy Clyro - Puzzle

Hello then, I’m currently sitting down and listening ever so intently to the new Biffy album – Puzzle. And I’m bored and it’s a bit sunny and unless I’m in shorts next to a pool the sun doesn’t really appeal to me (I just get sweaty) so I thought, y’know, what that hell I’ll do a sort of review/meandering talk on how good Biffy are and that jazz.

So sit down and get a cuppa, here’s my account of a Biffy journey.

Biffy for me are a bit of a new thing, I’ve got to be honest I’m being a bit of a Johnny come lately on this one, I wasn’t there from the start, I don’t have a tattoo of justboy lyrics on my calf in case of emotive emergency but I’d like to think that I’ve got inside the Biffy groove, and the groove is large and chunky with really nice bouncy bass and the kind of drumming that makes me want to take it up long time.

Ok the sound, it’s confusing, it’s intimidating at first, the first song I ever heard, I didn’t like at all, it was just screaming as far as I could see, and that actually put me off them for absolutely ages. But via the wonders of the internet and Last.fm radio 2 Christmases ago, during a phase where they gave away free subscription content for a month (veering off topic much Marshall?) All The Way Down came up and knocked me sideways, it was soft it was slow and then it ripped and took off at crushing pace just when it needed too, I was intrigued to say the least.

But not that intrigued as it took me a year to actually get round to buying Vertigo Of Bliss, which would be the second album and a bit of a silly place to start, but none the less I played it (skipped to All The Way Down mostly sure) and really liked, however they stayed just an occasional listen till I saw them live. Supporting Bloc Party (strange mix) I really only knew three songs, and with one of them a solely performed fan treat, I stood there a little bit confused but liking all the same.

So I took a gamble, which is a bit rare for me and ordered the first and third albums, oh my I wish I still had my job and could still do that but yes, they arrived and quite simply I feel in love with Blackened Sky, I must have listened to that track 20 times in a week, which when you consider back then I had about 20 hours in a week in which to listen to music, it really did make up a large chunk of that. Justboy I connected with straight off, but that’s probably because it’s such a basic song really. It’s heart is in the right place and the lyrics are pretty much your standard teeny angst love, “I don’t believe in anything” Which can be true, I suppose but it’s the music that drives the song for me, it’s triumphant, it’s a two fingered salute to whoever it is that’s fucking you around, it’s a NER in the fact of those people, much the same with 57. It’s just stomping. It’s a good album for softer slower moments, personal favourites being Christopher’s River and Scary Mary.

And then I saw them live once more, declared them to be the best thing since bread were sliced and bought a poster. Job done.

So the new one, Puzzle. Hm, it’s good, because it’s Biffy and its new and they’re fresh and brill. But, saying that a fair few of these songs have been touted around live for so long it sort of feels all a bit familiar, and as far as I can tell from the first few listens there aren’t as many corner stones with which to hang this album on, nothing’s standing out for me, apart from guilty pleasure Saturday Superhouse and that’s done and dusted with within the second track, I kinda get the feeling the album tails off towards the end.

However this is up for editing, as quite often you really can’t judge Biffy after say, 5 listens, maybe it’ll be upon the 20^th listen that the pieces of this particular PUZZLE fall into place.

I’ll get me coat.