For Ear Sake

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue (2009)

Genres: Ambient, Electronic, Folk, IDM

Bibio (Stephen James Wilkinson), a musician from England, truly shows how much of a wild card he is with the album Ambivalence Avenue (his fourth release). He came with more than a refreshing sound, but he also jumped ship with Mush Records to set sail with Warp. Twelve exhilarating tracks, a beautiful cover created by David Foldvari, and a new improved Bibio made it easy to title Ambivalence Avenue as being one of the best albums released in 2009.

It's no secret that Bibio draws inspiration from the group Boards of Canada. However, his fascination with the duo turned him into an easy target for critics. He was labeled an emulator, predicable, and even as a "one-trick pony." But with three releases under his belt, and a solid debut album on Warp Records, he left many of his critics in a silent awe. Successfully stepping outside of a comfort zone is far from easy, but it seems as if Bibio took a creative detour down Ambivalence Ave to find success in his own right.

Bibio finds more than his own style in this release; he also grabs inspiration from artists such as Madlib, J Dilla, and even Flying Lotus. You can hear J Dilla inspiration all over the track "Fire Ant". This track is definitely the red-headed stepchild out of the remaining 11 songs, but it gives the album difference at the perfect moment. "Sugarette" is another personal favorite of mine, and it effortlessly breathes life into the album.

Ambivalence Avenue has a few diverse moments. Some people may not find this album satisfying as a whole, and will resort to picking it to pieces. Whereas others will digest it from start to finish. The bottom line is, there's something for everyone on this album; especially if you're a fan of genres such as Electronic, Folk, or Hip Hop. Bleep has the album available in both MP3 and CD format (here). Also, for anyone interested in viewing additional artwork by David Foldvari, it can be found (here). Lastly, I've included two tracks to preview below. Enjoy!

Bibio - Fire Ant

Bibio - Sugarette