After a long tenure on Mush Records, Bibio (born Stephen Wilkinson) was brought into the prestigious Warp fold on – so it’s said – the recommendation of Boards of Canada. Having such a respected name sing your praises is any musician’s dream, but it’s conceivable that the West Midlands-born artist might have been best off staying where he was. In any case, a Warp release is sure to see him reaching whole new audiences; the words ‘make or break’ seem to be hovering ominously over this release. Let’s try to ignore them.
The album’s backbone is a kind of pastoral haze – highly reminiscent of The Beta Band at their folkiest – which has become Bibio’s trademark sound. At their best, the guitar and vocal-led numbers which promote this sound are gems of simplicity and beauty; take the ‘The Palm of your Wave’ for example, where the fragility and character of Wilkinson’s voice (which, it must be said, isn’t always the most striking) comes to the fore, or ‘Haikuesque (When She Laughs)’, perhaps the album’s highlight. The chief appeal of these tracks is that they do just one thing, but they do it well; a creative approach which is sadly underrated in our bigger-harder-faster culture (when did I get so old and ranty?). Unfortunately, doing one thing, it becomes apparent, is precisely what this album fails at.
Case in point: ‘Fire Ant’. Of course, it’s always nice to see producers keeping their ears to the ground – this track could feasibly be an offcut from Madlib’s Beat Konducta series, with its fragmented, soulful vocals and skittering breaks – but the late entry of a vocoded voice comes across as an attempt to add something to what is already a fully mature style; just not Bibio’s own. Further sleeve-worn influences are revealed in Sugarette and S’Vive, where the gloopy aqua-crunk-step sound of labelmate Flying lotus is exploited to its fullest. Don’t get me wrong, these stylistic forays are executed with skill and creativity; but there’s something disingenuous about such an established musician as Wilkinson tapping into a contemporary trend in such a blatant way.
And while these tracks may be standalone successes, they sit uneasily alongside the established Bibio sound. Ambivalence Avenue is saturated with soundscape passages and obstructively long silences between songs; tried and tested methods for cleansing the palette before a major change in style or mood. Sadly, the sheer frequency of these interludes detracts from their success, and the constant changes in pacing make for a fragmented, dissatisfying listen.
After so many releases (five albums by my count), you’d think Wilkinson would have learnt some self-discipline. Unfortunately, Ambivalence Avenue seems to be the work of a producer who wants to have his cake and eat it; he strives to be welcomed on both the soggy fields of WOMAD and the ketamine-dusted dancefloors of London’s hippest clubs. Unfortunately, the result isn’t quite enough for either. I’ll refrain from making a pun on my ambivalence towards this release. The proof is in the pudding. (And by pudding I mean percentage mark).
62%
I liked Bibio’s first album. hand cranked was great in places, but it was a step too far for the compost album. He seemed to have run out of ideas. The guy has talent but perhaps he should stick to producing cause quite frankly amb avenue is a tad cringy :(
Its not all criticism, I think there was some unfair comments about his Ovals EP. As a concept album, I liked it. I just hope he doesnt continue to tread in the high street with his music. And BTW, he doesnt take critisism well. I hae seen some blogs on his myspace where he hits back at bad reviews of his work. Geez, not everyone is gonna like your stuff.
3/10
I BROUGHT FI FROM THE BOC RECOMMENDATION AND THOUGHT IT WAS $15 WELL SPENT. I DIDNT BUY THE SECOND ONE AS SOME KIND SOUL(SEEK) MADE A COPY FOR ME. BUT I WENT OUT AGAIN TO BUY THE THIRD ALBUM. DESPITE ALL THE REVIEWS I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED. IT DIDNT EVOLVE AT ALL. THAT WAS THE GOOD THING ABOUT A BIBIO ALBUM, BECAUSE UNLIKE MOST OTHERS OF SIMILAR GENRE, IT WAS VERY ORGANIC AND THE LISTENER COULD SEE IT GROW. I GUESS THE EXCITEMENT OF WHAT A BIBIO PROJECT MAY GROW INTO WAS MORE EXCITING THAN THE FINAL RESULTS. I CANT LISTEN TO AMBIVALENCE AVENUE WITHOUT THINKING WHAT A SHAME IT IS THAT HE TOOK THIS DIRECTION. IF YOU LISTEN TO IT DIRECTLY AFTER FI YOU WILL KNOW WHAT I MEAN. I KNOW A LOT OF FRIENDS THAT LIVE AND DIE BY WARP THAT THINK THE SAME THING.
COBY.
FI was excellent Ovals was good. Not really into his new one. Sounds very record company driven.
Review is spot on if not overly generous.
FI – 85/100
HC – 60/100
VTC – 30/100
O&E – 80/100
AA – 15/100
Nice to hear people who share my assessment of the album; I’ve read a good few other reviews that are highly complimentary.
I saw him DJ at a brainfeeder night and it was all wonky hiphop and dubstep; I think he’s in a transitory period where he wants to be something much more dancefloor oriented, but he can’t reconcile it with his old material.
there’s hope yet though I reckon!
I can't see the previous comments, but they weren't too complimentary about the album. My 2p is that I'm glad he's moved on from his established sound!
the older comments will be restored in a few hours… just importing them all into the new comment database thingy
I can't see the previous comments, but they weren't too complimentary about the album. My 2p is that I'm glad he's moved on from his established sound!
the older comments will be restored in a few hours… just importing them all into the new comment database thingy
Good review. I didnt see it straight away. I loved the album when released. Its only after the summer and a few more plays – then you reach for a clark LP or BOC LP – got back to AA and you realise how bad it is. Sorry Bibio, but it may go down as a turkey on warp releases. I totally agree with the OP and the review is spot on.
BTW – is fire ant a joke?
1/10
I can’t let this go on! This is a fantastic album. Why do people consistently measure albums against that label’s previous releases? That’s ridiculous! Judge each album on its on merits. Fire Ant is his ode to Dilla, and it works extremely well. Jesus, what is with you people?