Buy Now
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
The WireFeb 23, 2018The ninth album from Wolverhampton born singer-guitarist and producer Stephen James Wilkinson is even more vague and numinous than 2016’s A Mineral Love and far better for it. [Feb 2018, p.58]
-
Dec 11, 2017Entrancing in its stillness, Phantom Brickworks solidifies Bibio as an artist of remarkable versatility.
-
MojoNov 28, 2017It's exquisite ghostly piano and hypnotic loops transport you to a gauzy, fantastical netherworld. [Jan 2018, p.96]
-
UncutNov 16, 2017Akin to labelmate Brian Eno's early ambient work, its nine, often lengthy tracks of ghostly yet graceful desolation are intended to evoke the forgotten histories of enduring locations. [Jan 2018, p.18]
-
Nov 15, 2017So, as much as Phantom Brickworks denotes a restless soul, it also shows unforeseen focus from a scatter-shot and ecstatic mind. Maybe making this album helped Wilkinson get some sleep for once.
-
Nov 9, 2017Living up to its title, Phantom Brickworks proves a spectral set, a fragile sounding record that confidently conveys the intent of its creator. It may not win him any new fans, and old fans may even be puzzled at the lack of sunny beats seen on last year’s ‘A Mineral Love’, but it still stands as a great escape for those who like to get lost in sound rather than riffs.
-
Nov 6, 2017There’s a widescreen vibe to these tracks; with their patient, sometimes nearly imperceptible cycles of accretion and subsidence, they feel as much like landscapes as they do music. But they’re vistas that have been internalized and made personal, and that process--along with the calm majesty of the songs--is the source of Phantom Brickworks emotional sweep.
-
Nov 6, 2017In a year in need of centering and a sense of calm, Phantom Brickworks lives up to its name; it feels haunted while also offering up a hope to rebuild.
-
Nov 3, 2017The overall effect is that of a fully original piece of music, extremely relaxing and imaginative, which effortlessly creates the suggested atmosphere of haunted places for the listener.
-
Nov 2, 2017Hushed yet haunting, Phantom Brickworks offers a beautiful new perspective on Bibio's music.
-
Nov 2, 2017With Phantom Brickworks Bibio has not only created a record that stands apart from his other Warp albums to date, but has cemented his mastery of the atmospheric; creating an album that can imprint on a listeners’ surroundings like few others.