Released - 6/22/09
Label - Warp Records
BLURB - This album is all over the place...like an 8 year old's ideal ice cream sundae. But with Bibio it's not M&M's and Gummi Bears, but an eclectic and diverse portioning of gentile acoustic, chopped up computer loops, indie rock and Haight-Ashbury psychadellica. Having these genres all present for a single song could likely cause a musical civil war, however Bibio finds a way to weave in and out of these nomenclatures throughout the entire record. At certain points of the record you really feel like it is 1968 and you're listening to a folk group on a street corner in San Francisco. At other points you're right back in 2009 with computer generated drum patterns and cut-up vocals battling an unsettling slew of sound effects. What a weird, no..., great mix.
Rating - 9.5 out of 10
FULL STORY - I'll start with the more retro and nostalgic parts of this album. It's actual really tangible and transports the listener back to an era when a black coffee, cigarette and an artsy beret were all the rage. Things were simpler then and so was the music - but in more of a practical sense. There weren't as many barriers to music and lyrics. For the most part if you were a songwriter and wished to convey some type of message, emotion or thought, all you needed was a pen and a guitar. Nowadays too much thought and production goes into song making, which definitely affects the sincerity, honesty and creativity of the music. I think Bibio recaptures this older, poetic simplicity through several tracks on 'Ambivalence Avenue.' There are common themes of friendship and togetherness bonded through waves of carefree and unrestrained honesty. The vocals on the title track are presented as a group, almost uniting the cause, and they are surrounded by what can only be viewed as their supporters masked as flutes, violins, pianos and guitars. Bibio's lyrics match his peaceful musical entourage:
"Then we saw from the upper deck, watching ourselves as if seeing our future. Greeted by strangers who seemed to be good friends and welcomed us through their shiny red door."
'Lovers' Carvings' (#10 song of 2009) greets us with another warm and familiar feel, as if it's 20 years ago and the family is eating at the dinner table, then collectively and instantaneously, they decide to dance. As the song begins there is a lone, electric guitar softly finger-picking a ballad that wanders and strays, but never goes to far off the beaten path. In itself it's pretty beautiful. As implied above...good music to eat a meal with your family to. Then the cowbell starts. Then the guitar picks up. Things get a little more upbeat. Before you know it everyone is standing at the table and clapping to the beat. How did this happen? There is some weird, incredibly unifying force to this song that I can't quite pinpoint. It just screams family, friends and memories. The lyrics are actually somewhat dark, but their force and delivery ultimately brighten them up to a pristine and hopeful glow:
"Lovers names carved in walls - overlap and start to merge. Some of them underneath. Maybe they appear in graveyards. Maybe they fade away, weathered and overgrown...time has told. Meaningful, hidden words suddenly appear from the murk. Maybe they're telling us that the end never was. Never Will. The words have gone but the meaning will never disappear from the wall."
As I said, this record really is a Jekyll and Hyde of sorts. Some other nostalgic highlights include the somber tale of a couple parting in 'The Palm of Your Wave' and the ephemerally-stringed 'All the Flowers.' Enter Hyde. Despite showing his obvious skills in honest, yet beautiful songwriting and lyrical arrangements, Bibio also knows his way around a computer. He wants us to know this.
Complete with no lyrics and chopped up vocal samples, Bibio floors me with his digital prowess on 'Fire Ants.' I can only describe it as a production similar to that of Flying Lotus, but with a dash more pop appeal. It's incredibly smooth and laid back, yet properly upbeat during certain portion of the track. Why Kanye West or Common haven't found this, reworked it, and threw out a hit is still making me scratch my head. Incredible beat.
'Sugarette' is a nice, slow building electronic number that kind of meanders along with both curiosity and indifference. It's simplicity makes me think. But the main reason I like this song is that it serves as the perfect transition from the dark and mysterious ending of 'Haikuesquesque' to the melancholy turned bright guitar introduction of 'Lovers' Carvings.' If ever a song served a purpose, it is this. 'Sugarette' acts like a musical adhesive and propels the listener along, almost in storyboard fashion. I don't know why I really like this strategy, but I do. I feel involved. I feel like I have to listen to one before I listen to the next, and that I'm better because of it.
'Dwrcan' is a really futuristic and ambitious choice for the final song on the album. The track starts out kind of funky with some creative, electronic percussion effects and a rigid bass line. Some other minute things are going on as well, with little keyboard riffs and digital effects accenting each other. Halfway through the song it sounds like a bomb goes off and the tone of the music changes drastically. Everything becomes chaotic and is filled with tension. With 90 seconds left the track leaves only atmospheric drones. End of the world? Feels like it.
This is going to be one of those albums I really like, but will inevitably find myself being tossed in to the minority. 'Ambivalence Avenue' is a veritable ying yang of music and ideas. Conceptually, it's brilliant. The tracks with warm instrumentation and thoughtful lyrics, the ying, are all beautifully done and inadvertently force us to reminisce about friends and the good old times. Conversely, the yang, is filled with dark and experimental electronic jaunts, which propel us into the future where we're met with the thought of a possible apocalypse. These combative styles, concepts and moods really make this record for me. I want to get inside Bibio's head.
Tracks
1.) Ambivalence Avenue
2.) Jealous of Roses
3.) All the Flowers
4.) Fire Ant
5.) Haikuesque (When She Laughs)
6.) Sugarette
7.) Lovers' Carvings
8.) Abrasion
9.) S'Vive
10.) The Palm of Your Wave
11.) Cry! Baby!
12.) Dwrcan
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