Customer Reviews

Ambivalence Avenue

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Bibio's Ambivalence Avenue is one of those CDs you have to listen to a few times to really pick up, unlike some releases like Squarepusher's "Hello Everything" and most of what Boards of Canada releases. However, likewise you become very hooked on it in a short period of time.

It starts off with a track I had received a preview of weeks before (The title track) and I was a bit staggered to hear the use of guitars with wah pedals on the next track. There are high points in each track but you have to really let the songs progress to have them show through, which is not something I necessarily enjoy with most music but it is implemented well here, and it has a very good flow to it. I've yet to really grasp a lot of the songs but the album is still a fantastic listen overall.

Although I really got into Bibio through his ambient acoustic sounds, this album is really great. I'd recommend it to any fan of Chris Clark, FlyLo or J Dilla, though this is definitely not the place to look if you want ambient guitar vignettes--I'd definitely check Bibio's previous three albums first.

This album was entirely unexpected less than half a year after "Vignetting the Compost" but more to the point its content took me completely by surprise. Gone is most of the ambient lo fi acoustic noodling that let you drift off. This stuff has a beat, some harsh 8 bit moments, definitely the use of an MPC and some groove. I love it. It is so far my favorite release of 2009. (I had extremely high hopes for I Monster's second release but it didn't quite wow me like the first)

Some aren't going to be pleased with this direction but I like his sound experimentation and there is still plenty of acoustic beauty on this album. Clear stand outs are Haikuesque and the palm of your wave. But the j dilla moments on Sugarette and Fire Ant are just awesome, gritty and satisfying. S'vive is pretty fun as well.

I like old Bibio but I welcome the new experimentation. He isn't breaking new ground here but he is really putting his own stamp on it and man does it work.

Bibio's Warp debut, Ambivalence Avenue, is one of the stealth albums of 2009, its pastoral psychedelia reminiscent of Super Furry Animals idly punting with Towers of Asia.

This is a diverse collection of well-crafted electro-acoustic pieces with very infectious rhythms. There are many toe-tappers here, and although I wouldn't describe this as dance music, there are several tracks that will make you wanna jump up and shake your booty. One of the best albums I've purchased in a while. For more, read the review on Pitchfork.
[...]

Real progress is often subtle. Stephen Wilkinson a.k.a. Bibio delivered an EP and an LP in less than a year and now, merely five months later, gives us a record that may be the crystallization of a vision so blurred and so genial at the same time.

Bibio has taken a chance and broaden in every direction to include pop and folk structures mixed with his trademark lo-fi and ethereal compositions. S'Vive is the clearest example of where he's headed as he perfects subtlety: it shows his obsession with sound wear and dirty noise all encased in a pop melody, likable yet daring.
All the flowers bears an irrepressible resemblance to Boards of Canada, but the step beyond he takes in Fire Ant shatters all comparisons at once.

A surprising improvement is the singing. He can truly sing and does it in a way that not only complements the music but also leads inserting cadence when needed and disruption when demanded. More robust with confidence he now makes a simple piece soar with indelible beauty.

There is not a straight line like in the folk-inspired Vignetting the compost but the permanent mutation of aesthetics is more than welcome. The entire album digests as a piece of candy, impossible not to like. The variety and convergence of genres in one place, or along many in little spurts, made me come back for pleasant discoveries each time.

The clear achievement in this record is the level of experimentation Wilkinson has mastered, more with urban and electronic sounds than with created atmospheres. What was stripped in Vignetting the compost has been dressed in a fine layer of refined and seemingly carefully composed arrangement that leaves lots to the imagination but much more to the listener's enjoyment. It is a richness that deserves to be shared and contemplated as the first step to something big in the future.

It is tough to compare the "old" and the "new" Bibio, mostly because each phase carries a unique personality, but it is unbelievable to witness such successful departure only months apart. If it was simple to box his music once as a "follower of" now it could easily be classified as "creator of" and for all that matters that is a leap forward worthy of celebration.

This is the first Bibio album I've listened to, I was very impressed. It's not your typical down-tempo-ish sort of album. It does have those elements but a little something extra that makes it more unique I think. This album definitely stands out

With AMBIVALENCE AVENUE, Bibio makes the move to Warp, with a slight change in sound. There's much more of a percussive element on the title track, and... is that funk I hear on "Jealous of Roses"? Has he been collaborating with Jamie Lidell? Did Scott Herren fist bump him for "Fire Ant" and "Sugarette"? Fear not, though, the lo-fi folk loops still persist: he sings and strums his way through "All the Flowers" and "Haikuesque (When She Laughs)." But overall, there's a disconnect between his 'old' style and the newer ones. "S'vive" goes pure crazy, which is then followed by the delicate "The Palm of Your Wave." Thankfully, "Lovers' Carvings" bridges that, starting with the sunny sweetness one can expect of Bibio before swinging into a soft pop tune. The final track, "Dwrcan," moves into abstraction. A definite change for Bibio, one that needs to be smoothed out a bit, perhaps.

I only like the following tracks:
jealous of roses
fire ant
sugarette
s'vive

But they are amazing tracks, hence the four stars. Check'em out.