Ambivalence Avenue

Bibio - Ambivalence Avenue
Critic Score
Based on 15 reviews
2009 Ratings: #291 / 923
User Score
Based on 114 ratings
2009 Rank: #133
Liked by 9 people
June 23, 2009 / Release Date
LP / Format
Warp / Label
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
AllMusic

Even if Ambivalence Avenue didn't follow so quickly after an already solid Bibio album, it would still be a big step forward for Wilkinson's music.

85
FACT Magazine

That such disparate elements hang together so well is a testament to Bibio’s talents and exemplify the unifying, all consuming nature of sound. Throughout it all, Ambivalence Avenue feels like a hazy flash back to an unspecified albeit magical summer of your youth.

83
Pitchfork

While Ambivalence Avenue is an excellent album by any measure, Bibio deserves extra credit for venturing outside of his established comfort zone.

80
Tiny Mix Tapes

Yes, Ambivalence Avenue is an album that defies expectations, and it is also Bibio’s most creative and penetrating release yet.

80
musicOMH
For his sense of structure and emotional give and take is acute, so that we move from loud to quiet, from slow to quite fast, from acoustic to electronic, with an ease that makes perfect sense.
80
No Ripcord
On this fine album, Wilkinson seems intent on capturing this precious, ambivalent space.
80
Sputnikmusic

Ambivalence Avenue is fresh and funky, combining soulful and nostalgic vocals and guitar with modern dance beats to create something entirely new.

75
XLR8R
Wilkinson has taken a sonic palette that’s been muddled by many and created a quiet gem.
71
Coke Machine Glow

What’s crucial for Wilkinson isn’t the sensibility of cohesion but the continued consistency of quality—whatever they sound like and from wherever they come, these songs just need to sound good. And they do.

70
PopMatters

It’d take some mad science to mix all of Bibio’s elements, old and new, into a sound as definitive as the one he established over his first five years as an artist, but Ambivalence Avenue is a great fresh start.

70
Spectrum Culture

What is most impressive is when you compare Ambivalence Avenue to Bibio’s earliest works and you realize that the homage to Aphex Twin and Boards of Canada is gone, replaced by an emerging, unique sound. That definitely counts for something. I’m excited to see what Bibio comes up with next.

60
NME
He’s named after his father’s best fishing fly, but the pastoral folk moments on Stephen Wilkinson’s fifth album of chummy electronica pale next to the glut of nostalgic yearning.
60
The Guardian

Stephen Wilkinson's debut release for Warp is his fourth album as Bibio: Ambivalence Avenue sounds more like the work of a newcomer than a seasoned musician.

60
Mojo

Ambivalence Avenue presents a livlier Bibio, tastefully absorbing hip hop and disco beats.

50
Drowned in Sound
Bibio’s tendency, across the album, to either smooth the edges of his creations into non-threatening abstraction or fail to zone in on his best ideas is frustrating.
ToxicSteven
60

it's aight, jealous of roses is best on here everything else is aight

fav tracks: jealous of roses, s'vive

ciruelman
40

damnnn i did not like this,the cover is great,but the album itself is really unimaginative music that i feel i will not remember in the next week

Phoenix
NR

Vacations in Spain have never been this sick since the release of Ambivalence Avenue.

FAVORITE TRACKS: AMBIVALENCE AVENUE, FIRE ANT, HAIKUESQUE (WHEN SHE LAUGHS), LOVER'S CRAVING, ABRASION, THE PALM OF YOUR WAVE, DWRCAN.

ToxicSteven
60

it's aight, jealous of roses is best on here everything else is aight

fav tracks: jealous of roses, s'vive

ciruelman
40

damnnn i did not like this,the cover is great,but the album itself is really unimaginative music that i feel i will not remember in the next week

Phoenix
NR

Vacations in Spain have never been this sick since the release of Ambivalence Avenue.

FAVORITE TRACKS: AMBIVALENCE AVENUE, FIRE ANT, HAIKUESQUE (WHEN SHE LAUGHS), LOVER'S CRAVING, ABRASION, THE PALM OF YOUR WAVE, DWRCAN.

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Track List

1ambivalence avenue
3:42
75
2jealous of roses
2:35
56
3all the flowers
1:05
68
4fire ant
4:58
61
5haikuesque (when she laughs)
3:32
77
6sugarette
3:54
48
7lovers' carvings
3:58
83
8abrasion
2:46
75
9s'vive
4:05
48
10the palm of your wave
2:25
50
11cry! baby!
3:57
55
12dwrcan
5:55
68
Total Length: 42 minutes

Year End Lists

#33/Pitchfork
#38/Clash
#42/Treble
#48/No Ripcord
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