Is Bibio the new Lemon Jelly? Loved 'Fi' cos it was ace to play when you wanted the woozy retro soundscapes and emotive nostalgia without the weirdo hip-hop breaks that epitomised Boards of Canada's finest cuts. Did you know I once kept the drummer from Hood awake by quietly playing BOC late at night whilst canoodling with my girl and honestly, i've never heard such tortured moans & protests from one man. Now if it were Mastodon I could understand...What a strange man he was....Don't quite like this album as much as i'd wanted to. I thought it would be a twatted collection of off-kilter mood muzak The funniest thing is a sample of some little girl wanting to let her cat in! One track has that grating cut-up soul thing going on which pisses me off. It's like listening to Ninja Tune's arse. But then you get some hazy lo-fi lullaby which is quite cute and 'Sugarette' which lollops along in quite an endearing, pissed fashion. It's got a bit of a sickpurplewow thing going on so he's obviously down wit' da kidz. I think he's at his most appealing where he does these dinky little instrumental refrains with the prettiest guitar all recorded quite primitively. 'Lovers' Carvings' starts off as such then becomes quite soulful like Bill Withers goes to Nigeria or summat. A really natural 'n' homely production here, this is how i'd love Jamie Lidell to sound. All in all a mixed bag that initially strikes me as a little cobbled together. I must say I prefer his dreamy vocal & playful guitar style to his jittery annoying electronics but then I hate Wagon Christ & all that shizzle so i'm probably well intolerant & old, out of touch etc.......'Ambivalence Avenue' is on Waaaarrrrrppppppp, big disc, little disc.
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Sound clips for Ambivalence Avenue by Bibio: on CD at Norman Records UK. CD, Warp, WARPCD177, £11.79.
· Bibio (aka Stephen Wilkinson) is a homegrown purveyor of bright, colourful Summer music - from vintage disco beats through swirling expansive pieces to plaintive guitar songs. · He’s been described as “the antidote to the modern laptopia of pristine electronic music” by Marcus Eoin of labelmates Boards Of Canada. · This album is a patchwork of summery beats and saturated vintage indie - think ‘The Wicker Man’, ‘Belle & Sebastian’ and ‘70s children’s TV themes.
Ambivalence Avenue * Jealous Of Roses * All The Flowers * Fire Ant * Haikuesque (When She Laughs) * Sugarette * Lovers’ Carvings * Abrasion * S’Vive * The Palm Of Your Wave * Cry! Baby! * Dwrcan
