The folky side of
Bibio's music is always lovely, whether
Stephen Wilkinson submerges it in blunted beats and decaying tape ambiance on
Vignetting the Compost or lets the sun shine on it, as he did on
Ribbons.
Sleep on the Wing is a companion to that gorgeous 2019 album, and though it has a smaller scope, it's just as winning. A few songs pick up where
Ribbons left off: With their airy melodies and twining violins and acoustic guitars, "Sleep on the Wing" and "Oakmoss" are pastoral dreams as captivating as anything that appeared on the album. More often, though,
Wilkinson revels in taking
Ribbons' elements -- lilting melodies, wide-ranging acoustic instrumentation, and electronic washes -- in different directions. He filters
Sleep on the Wing's outdoorsy beauty through a psychedelic prism with the cosmic electronics and warped tones of "Crocus" and the swirling currents of "A Couple Swim," which echoes the mood of 2014's
Green EP as much as
Ribbons. "Lightspout Hollow," a collage of piano, birdsong, and murky production, harks back even further to
Bibio's earliest days. By contrast,
Wilkinson lets
Sleep on the Wing's acoustic purity shine on "The Milky Way Over Ratlinghope," where the fiddle and guitar engage in a hushed conversation. His reverence for British and Celtic folk is clear on songs such as the delicately picked "Awpockes" or "Miss Blennerhassett," a jaunty number that feels like it's descended from the region's traditional dance music. No matter what direction his music takes on
Sleep on the Wing, it's quintessentially
Bibio, and spending more time with it is a joy. ~ Heather Phares
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