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Bibio, "Fi"
This album is aptly titled, as the 17 tracks it contains sound neitherhi nor lo fi. Stephen Wilkinson's debut release as Bibio is made up ofa mixture of muffled field recordings, well-recorded live guitarplaying, and ambient drones. Although individually these elements aresuccessfully executed, the finished product could have been more fullyrealized.Mush
Many of the tracks are approximately two minutes long, andcould have been developed into longer pieces. "Bewley in Grey" is onetrack that ends too soon, just as a nice ambience begins to swoop inand swirl around the repetitive guitar patterns. The short pieces whichwork best are those that are based on field recordings. "Cluster at CWMEinion" consists of sounds of creaking, rustling, and the faint voicesof distant animals. If some of the instrument-based pieces were longerand more fully developed, these short sound-collages could work betteras links, and would provide contrast. However, since almost all of thetracks are fairly short, with only five of the 17 passing the fourminute mark, they all end up sounding like sketches. Some of them dowork well as such, but others, especially "Lakeside" and "Bewley inWhite", would have benefitted from added instrumentation. Fi'satmospheric, pastoral quality is a good foundation, but too many of thetracks introduce loops without adding much to them. The album's longesttrack, "Cantaloup Carousel", starts with a strummed, melodic guitarpattern that sounds like an introduction to an actual song. However,this pattern continues for almost six more minutes with littlevariation besides an effect that makes it sound as if it's being playedon a warbly cassette deck. While many of the tracks work well asinstrumentals, some of them sound as if they are lacking vocals. Ifthere were a few vocal tracks, or some other percussive elements added,the album would have more depth. Wilkinson may have feared that addingtoo much would have made the album sound cluttered, as it seems thathis approach is somewhat rooted in minimalism. By adding elements withsubtle gestures, he would have added variety without taking away fromthe album's appeal. Simply developing a few of the stronger pieces intolonger, more finished works would have been another way to give the setmore depth. As a debut album Fi shows that its' creator has alot of potential. It would be nice to see him develop these elementsinto a more fully realized work.
Many of the tracks are approximately two minutes long, andcould have been developed into longer pieces. "Bewley in Grey" is onetrack that ends too soon, just as a nice ambience begins to swoop inand swirl around the repetitive guitar patterns. The short pieces whichwork best are those that are based on field recordings. "Cluster at CWMEinion" consists of sounds of creaking, rustling, and the faint voicesof distant animals. If some of the instrument-based pieces were longerand more fully developed, these short sound-collages could work betteras links, and would provide contrast. However, since almost all of thetracks are fairly short, with only five of the 17 passing the fourminute mark, they all end up sounding like sketches. Some of them dowork well as such, but others, especially "Lakeside" and "Bewley inWhite", would have benefitted from added instrumentation. Fi'satmospheric, pastoral quality is a good foundation, but too many of thetracks introduce loops without adding much to them. The album's longesttrack, "Cantaloup Carousel", starts with a strummed, melodic guitarpattern that sounds like an introduction to an actual song. However,this pattern continues for almost six more minutes with littlevariation besides an effect that makes it sound as if it's being playedon a warbly cassette deck. While many of the tracks work well asinstrumentals, some of them sound as if they are lacking vocals. Ifthere were a few vocal tracks, or some other percussive elements added,the album would have more depth. Wilkinson may have feared that addingtoo much would have made the album sound cluttered, as it seems thathis approach is somewhat rooted in minimalism. By adding elements withsubtle gestures, he would have added variety without taking away fromthe album's appeal. Simply developing a few of the stronger pieces intolonger, more finished works would have been another way to give the setmore depth. As a debut album Fi shows that its' creator has alot of potential. It would be nice to see him develop these elementsinto a more fully realized work.
