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Bibio - Ribbons


Rubin Farr

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i've been relistening to A Mineral Love recently and .. it might not actually be as bad as i orig thought. 

i think the mix of loner introvert sad + upbeat chill dad soft rock confuses me a bit, but the more familiar i get with it the better it gets. still a tad confusing an album for me, but been enjoying it. 

 

very excited for new album now. everything heard so far seems much more immediately inline with my tastes :-)

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That first album on Mush Records is still his best. He's never come remotely close to that in almost 15 years, IMO.

Vignetting or Ovals & Emeralds?

Assuming Fi.  That was his first and was originally released on Mush before warp picked up the rights for a reissue.

 

Warp should give the same treatment to Hand Cranked, that is my top bibio album actually.

 

i've been relistening to A Mineral Love recently and .. it might not actually be as bad as i orig thought. 

i think the mix of loner introvert sad + upbeat chill dad soft rock confuses me a bit, but the more familiar i get with it the better it gets. still a tad confusing an album for me, but been enjoying it. 

 

very excited for new album now. everything heard so far seems much more immediately inline with my tastes :-)

I hear you with a bit confusing; the first time I listened to mineral all my instincts were telling me it was too cheesy, too much Gotye style pop, etc.  But then I kept listening and it kept growing on me.  I think it just has really good flow..  By the time Town and Country comes on in the context of the album it no longer sounds cheesy.. just straight up groovy

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That first album on Mush Records is still his best. He's never come remotely close to that in almost 15 years, IMO.

Vignetting or Ovals & Emeralds?

Assuming Fi.  That was his first and was originally released on Mush before warp picked up the rights for a reissue.

 

Warp should give the same treatment to Hand Cranked, that is my top bibio album actually.

 

i've been relistening to A Mineral Love recently and .. it might not actually be as bad as i orig thought. 

i think the mix of loner introvert sad + upbeat chill dad soft rock confuses me a bit, but the more familiar i get with it the better it gets. still a tad confusing an album for me, but been enjoying it. 

 

very excited for new album now. everything heard so far seems much more immediately inline with my tastes :-)

I hear you with a bit confusing; the first time I listened to mineral all my instincts were telling me it was too cheesy, too much Gotye style pop, etc.  But then I kept listening and it kept growing on me.  I think it just has really good flow..  By the time Town and Country comes on in the context of the album it no longer sounds cheesy.. just straight up groovy

 

 

Ah, yea you're right I'm sure we're talking about Fi. Fi is nice but sounds pretty similar throughout. I prefer Vignetting, but I guess that's one of the nice things about Bibio. Each album is something different.

 

Vignetting is my #1, followed by Silver Wilkinson.

 

Can't wait to hear the new album this week!

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Badly drawn boy got some new tunes eh...

 

 

 

just playin...

 

kinda...

 

 

 

that's arguably not a bad thing

 

also I feel like Badly Drawn Boy is hell overlooked in indie rock - I saw someone once sum up Arcade Fire's "Suburbs" song as 'just a Badly Drawn Boy tune' and I was flabbergasted how dead on that was

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i've gotta give it more listens to see how it ranks amongst his other work, but on my first listen it is seems like it'll be up there with the best. it's more immediately likable and cohesive than a mineral love, for sure. the violins, mandolins, etc fit in so well with his sound, and i like that that he's returned to his lo-fi sound without overdoing it.

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Got my copy in today.  The fabric cover's really nice.  Not exactly as pictured in the promo shots, though.  I was hoping the tie would be a strip of the tracklist which was a nice contrast, but it's just a scrap from the sleeve print.  Still a really nice package, and it's nice to see somewhat unconventional materials used. 

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i've gotta give it more listens to see how it ranks amongst his other work, but on my first listen it is seems like it'll be up there with the best. it's more immediately likable and cohesive than a mineral love, for sure. the violins, mandolins, etc fit in so well with his sound, and i like that that he's returned to his lo-fi sound without overdoing it.

 

 

Streamed it today once, I agree with this take. Beyond pumped to have this arriving just as spring is happening here!

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Well, it's nice but isn't flooring me as much as I'd hoped. I'm gonna stick with it and hope she's a grower.

 

Regardless, the third track on the album (Before?) and the first track on side C (synthy boi with the pitch shifted vocals) are both gorgeous. Easily my personal stand outs on this LP.

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Streamed it this morning. It didn't do much for me but I wasn't expecting too much. Fi is still his best work although I also enjoyed Phantom Brickworks . I doubt I'll ever listen to Ribbons again. It's just contrived, hippy nonsense. Tracks called Ode to a Nuthatch and Pretty Ribbons and Lovely Flowers don't help either. It might be just me but listening to this sort of stuff, I keep expecting to hear him launch into Scarborough Fair at any moment.

 

Just my opinion, I know there are lots of folks on here really like this side to his music.

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So pretty, so beautiful some of these tracks.  He really is getting better and better.  Of course it's not perfect, I could probably do without the middle of the album lol.  But the first few tracks and the last few are great.

 

I mean if this is too "hippy" or "starbucks" for you I'm not sure how you ever liked bibio to be honest.  He's always had this sound he's just now refining it brilliantly.

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I haven’t read the lyrics sheet yet, but I remember enjoying his lyrics on other albums. I think it’s fair to say that on the surface this album may overplay the “pastoral british folk” hand a bit, but I think the depth is there to listen for, if you want to find it (and I expect the thematic depth is there as well, despite the somewhat ham-fisted track titles).

 

I mean just the guitar playing alone is enough to dig into for a while, if you’re into that kind of thing. 

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Listened to this over the weekend, I love it. Was a perfect Sunday morning album, watching the trees outside sway gently on a crisp, sunny spring morning, while hearing Bibio's beautiful guitar playing was perfect. I must be his target audience lol. To me it sounds like a blend of VTC and Silver Wilkinson, which are my favorite albums of his. 

 

And some of the track names have got to be tongue in cheek. I mean c'mon, he included samples of a cow mooing on one of the tracks. He's got to be having fun with this, playing into the folksy hippy image he's created for himself.

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re: being a studio-rat: check the interview posted on the last page (https://www.popmatters.com/bibio-2019-ribbon-interview-2633961913.html) he mentions the difficulty of processing his voice to sound like a chorus of children for Erdidder.  And in an interesting reversal.. the vocal from Pretty Ribbons is a sample of his grandmother processed to almost sound like his singing.  To me theres a sincerity to his process that gives it plenty of depth beyond the fact that it is, in-fact, starbucks ready

 

He's always had this sound he's just now refining it brilliantly.

basically, this :)

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That first album on Mush Records is still his best. He's never come remotely close to that in almost 15 years, IMO.

Vignetting or Ovals & Emeralds?

Assuming Fi.  That was his first and was originally released on Mush before warp picked up the rights for a reissue.

 

Warp should give the same treatment to Hand Cranked, that is my top bibio album actually.

Re my comment, I just noticed this on the youtube upload for Hand Cranked

 

"Provided to YouTube by Warp Records The Cranking House · Bibio Hand Cranked ℗ Warp Records"

 

So they did pick up both Fi and Hand Cranked.. The upload for Vignetting the Compost still credits Mush records > who dont even seem to exist anymore? Anyways, a reissue (and first vinyl for Vignetting) of his whole back catalogue would be appreciated..

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