Review - Fibes, Oh Fibes! - Album

Fibes, Oh Fibes! are a Swedish band that have been on my radar for some time now, and ‘Album’ (what a title!) is their fourth full length. The group’s webpage calls them alternative rock, but I don’t hear that anywhere. Soft rock and pop certainly, but not much about this is too alternative.

‘Album’ sees the group departing pretty drastically from the sound on their last effort, ‘1987’. From what I remember of it (to be honest, I haven’t listened to the album in quite some time), it was fairly electronic in nature and very pop. I have the single “Run To You (ft. Kim Wilde)” sitting in my music folder, and I listen to it from time to time. If you know what that sounds like (or if you want to listen to it right here), than you still have no idea what is on ‘Album’.

Fibes, Oh Fibes! – “Run To You (ft. Kim Wilde)”

‘Album’ brings things away from the pop and even the modern, and song by song you find yourself deeper in the 1970’s soft rock world. Sometimes this is translated in lyrics, style, or mood, and other times it is absolutely direct. The songs “If You Ever Feel Better” and “Goodbye To Love” really could have been taken directly from 1974; the horns, the vocals, everything seems to be from that era, and though they may not have too much experience with this style, Fibes! does it well.

But then there are times (“Apex of the Sun”) where they bring in 80’s keyboards, which I feel weight the album enough in the Fibes, Oh Fibes! sound enough that their die-hard fans won’t feel left out in this change of genre and style. They even take a moment to tone things down and they include a modern Badly Drawn Boy-esque slow, simple piano moment on “Good For My Soul” (followed later by a similar “From Me”), which has no place in any time other than the present.

The group brought in fellow Swede Pontus Winnberg (of Miike Snow and Bloodshy & Avant) to produce the album, and I love what the two parties have done here. The album is a mix of styles, historical notes, and even genres. Is it pop? Is it soft rock? Is it electronica? All of the above, and then something entirely new at the same time. In the end, it doesn’t really matter. ‘Album’ is a lot of fun. Or, at least very interesting to listen to.

‘Album’ is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Album-Fibes-Oh/dp/B007LI035G/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1343201906&sr=8-8&keywords=Fibes%2C+Oh+Fibes">“available” now</a>, but only as an import, and even then it looks a little sketchy.

Listen to: “Apex of the Sun”, “Goodbye To Love”, “From Me”, “A Kiss”, and “Outro”