Bibio's music seems to always be compared to that of Boards of Canada, and for good reason. Besides being discovered by Boards, both render electronic music eerily warm and organic, keeping the sharper edges warm and fuzzy with a cool veneer of spaced-out psychedelia. Bibio's world of sound, though, leaves the beats behind, opting instead for a lo-fi world of AM radio '70s folk filtered through ProTools and a distinctly 21st century sensibility.
Vignetting the Compost, his latest for the experimental-leaning Mush Records, is a pleasing listen, even if it's not quite as attention grabbing as his previous albums. "Dopplerton" is a warped-record folk song, a picked guitar line that warbles along under flurries of flutes. It's hard to tell where Bibio's world of field recordings and original production ends, but that's the beauty of it. "Odd Paws" starts out like an alternate universe "Dueling Banjos" but ends up sounding more like a soundtrack for outer space than inbred Appalachia. And the crackling "Under the Pier" captures memories you've never had with its nostalgic loops and hidden melodies.
Bibio's music isn't dance, it's not entirely electronic, and it's only sort of folk. But the absence of a clear tag is exactly what makes it work. - Blurt |
