“Silver Wilkinson” by Bibio

May 14. 2013 | By Sean Morris

Silver Wilkinson

Bibio
Silver Wilkinson
[Warp]

Silver Wilkinson is the promise of Bibio fulfilled. On his fourth Warp Records release (seventh overall), Stephen Wilkinson plays to his strengths as an alchemist of folk, electronic, and any other genre he deems worthy.

“Somebody waits for you, maybe too long for you,” whispers a voice filtered through a mist that is part scratched vinyl, part modified memory. Wilkinson is content to drift on his inner tube (or cloud) all day. The use of field recordings on the lugubrious “Wulf” and the plaintive “Raincoat” signify the world whizzing by. An acoustic interlude is interrupted by speakers bumping nearby. Migrating from Dirty South fluidity to Chi-City chopped up soul, “You” (like “Fire Ant” before it) keeps Bibio at the forefront of artists who could revive hip-hop production if they wanted to.

After thirty minutes of reclining, Wilkinson reluctantly stands upright and breaks out his dance moves. The two step trance of “Look At Orion!” leisurely builds to the freak out of “Business Park,” which synthesizes dark wave menace and progressive noodling into something utterly contemporary. Immediately following the exertion, the album goes horizontal again, but does not succumb to sleep. Bibio and his meditative machinery remain fully charged.

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