Bibio:Mind Bokeh

6.8/10 dropps

The Midlands producer and student of sonic arts, Bibio, returns with Mind Bokeh, an album whose namesake refers to photographic haze. And though the album is laden with its own musical haze, it is coupled with some very strong grooves, creating a very mobile experience for the listener at home, in a car, at a club.

“Wake Up!” has warbly and fuzzy keys over kick drum-centric percussion with side stick action every couple of beats. The atmospheric textures give the song a nostalgic feel that doesn’t get washed out in the haze thanks to its impeccable groove. “Light Speed,” has some tasty funk appeal with its wah-wah guitar fills, buttery smooth bass line and 70s synthesizer soloing throughout. “Feminine Eye” is the shortest track on the album but it is the most accessible and infectious one. It has a perfect and sprightly rhythm and a sample of especially bright pings and pangs. The interwoven horn section repeating the vocal melody is icing on the cake. The repeat count of this 1:51 track is at five as of this sentence.

However, music that is largely instrumental runs the risk of being too repetitive and going nowhere. Unless it’s really danceable, outside the club, a song can see its shell life drop to about less than a minute. Such is the case with the opener, “Excuses.” It’s a slow, atmospheric, four and a half minute cycle of a steady drum beat and sparse guitar. The problem isn’t necessarily with these sounds. The looming keys and rain samples actually give the song very nice texture. It’s just that it takes about four and a half minutes until it deviates from slow-burner status into something more interesting – in this case, an underwhelming head-bopping rhythm and some throwback hip-hop bass and drums a la 80s Def Jam. Not a very good start to an otherwise solid album. But if you are the patient type, in this society of touch screens and instant gratification, you may find bliss in something like “Pretentious,” whose bright guitars and general smoothness make for a warm and summery jam, despite its criticizing lyrical content. Big ups on making “you pretend that you pretend, you don’t know that you don’t know” fun to sing along to despite it not being the cleverest of lyrics.

Overall, Mind Bokeh doesn’t have the same finger-plucked love affair of, say, Ambivalence Avenue, but it does feature some warm, throwback sounds that are heavy on the grooves, lending itself to sound tracking cherubic car rides or hip clothing stores on early Saturdays.

-Eric Quitugua

Thu Apr 7

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Bibio:Mind Bokeh

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