Bibio – “Light Up the Sky” (Singles Going Steady)

Emmanuel Elone: “Light Up the Sky” is a stunning electronic, R&B fusion. With some vibrant synth chords and some distinct percussion (that includes handclaps and possibly finger snaps), “Light Up the Sky” certainly isn’t lacking in the musical department. Bibio’s vocals are great as well, bringing some smooth, passionate singing to the table as well. For some reason, though, “Light Up the Sky” doesn’t pack the punch that I would expect it to, which is surprising since nothing seems to be out of place or outright bad on it. Still, it’s a good song at the very least, and might just simply have to grow on me a bit more before I can fully appreciate it. [6/10]

Pryor Stroud: Employing the same retro, Philly soul-indebted aesthetic of previous tracks like “Feeling” and “Town & Country”, “Light Up in the Sky” injects further nuance to Bibio’s sound from A Mineral Love, adding cut-up vocal samples, atmospheric textures, and reverb-drenched guitar pluckings. The self-circulating echoes surrounding the chorus are particularly memorable, each half-uttered vocal effusion spreading out like a particle of light illuminating a pathway in the dark — a way home or, perhaps, a way back. [8/10]

Chad Miller: Other than a few enjoyable moments, I feel like there wasn’t much here that hasn’t been done better before. I like the effect used on the spliced melody. It provided a cool rhythmic effect, but unfortunately no part of the melody was ever that memorable. Overall it just seems to fall flat in comparison to the music it tries draw from. [6/10]

Chris Ingalls: “Town & Country”, the first single from this album, was basically Steely Dan updated for the 21st century, and this time around, Bibio is still stuck in a time warp. His aching falsetto is reminiscent of a 1979 adult contemporary playlist, and the dramatic, repetitious synth riff meshes nicely with some pretty guitar flourishes and hand claps. It’s a lovely, retro mid-tempo ballad that proves once again Bibio is an artist deserving of your attention. [8/10]

SCORE: 7.00