In which Bibio’s love of 1980s ballads comes right to the fore. At least, it does on ‘The Way You Talk’, a particularly effective collaboration with Gotye – of ‘Somebody That I Used To Know’ fame. ‘A Mineral Love’ is the most song-based album of Bibio’s output so far, but it retains the fuzzy, wistful mood of previous instrumentals really nicely. There are dashes of folk, especially late-1960s folk, and a few surprises too. Top of these are ‘Feeling’, which reveals some funky attitude to go with its falsetto, while the bumpy beat of ‘With The Thought Of Us’ is also appealing. ‘Why So Serious?’ begins like a dreamy take on ‘Love Come Down’ but then turns into a classy R&B pop song with Olivier St. Louis on vocal duties, while ‘Gasoline & Mirrors’, featuring Wax Stag, is a lovely, soft hearted piece of music with a swirly texture. If you’ve been following Bibio’s music you’ll be glad to hear this is an especially summery opus, where the producer lets his hair down a bit and goes with the easy flow.
5 out of 5
Reviewed by Ben Hogwood
