Bon Iver: Bon Iver, Bon Iver Album Review

August 16th, 2011 • Album Review
Tags: Bon Iver

Anyone who knows and loves Bon Iver can tell the tale of front-man Justin Vernon’s debut recording experience. After the breakup of his former band, the end of a relationship, and a mononucleosis infection, Vernon headed to his father’s cabin in the woods of Wisconsin, seeking solitude.

What emerged from this ultimately cathartic experience was the dark, sparse, and hauntingly beautiful album For Emma, Forever Ago. Everything about the album just worked; listeners could hear Vernon’s isolation and identify with his emotional longings.

Four years, an EP, and several collaborations later, Vernon released Bon Iver’s (semi) eponymous sophomore album, Bon Iver, Bon Iver. Just taking a quick listen to his collaborations (an eclectic combination of ambient, experimental, indie rock, and hip hop), and you know this album will be different.

Honestly, with all the praise the debut album received, I’m surprised Bon Iver didn’t get more hate. However, upon listening and relistening, you realize that this sophomore album is still brilliant. And while it’s different, it’s not that different.

Despite the large variety of new sounds present – dirtier and grungier guitars, plenty more horns and woodwinds, 80s style balled synths(on more than one track mind you), random blips and bleeps, metallic percussion, saxophone – there are still more than a few songs that could have been recorded on For Emma and no one would be the wiser.

The first track, “Perth,” serves as a prime analogy to the transition of sound Vernon has taken in Bon Iver. It starts with a few seconds of a breeze blowing and distant clanking (perhaps dinner plates inside a home or rustic wind chimes). Then a soft guitar progression with only a hint of grit on the peaks of the pattern enters and fades. Then a church cathedral vocal harmony joins a military snare pattern under Vernon’s opening verse, finally giving way to the chorus which includes the initial soft guitar progression along with a standard drumset backbeat.

It’s not what you would expend from Bon Iver, but it’s also pleasantly familiar. They definitely sound more like a rock band at certain moments while in other moments I feel I am back in Vernon’s Wisconsin cabin.

If there is one thing consistent between both albums, it is the excellent songwriting and attention to detail. There was a lot of ambience you could pick up from the sparse arrangements in For Emma. You can only imagine the level of detail in this lush second effort. Every close listen draws another interesting detail I hadn’t heard before. Sometimes I have to stop listening and ask myself, “What was that exactly?”

Of all the various sounds present in Bon Iver, I’ve find the most strange and uncharacteristic of that familiar Bon Iver sound to be the strange, sparkling 80s synth tones and pads that occur on “Minnesota, WI,” “Calgary,” and “Beth/Rest.” It almost comes as a little out-of-place or even gimmicky, like a purposefully unexpected turn in an otherwise cohesive plot.

Of course, there are other strange, eclectic moments within the album (the classic rock/country guitar mesh at the end of “Beth/Rest” and the blips and bleeps in “Lisbon, OH”) to reassure the listener that this album, as best I can tell, is a breakout album. Debunking any previous assumptions that Bon Iver has a particular sound or genre.

While I do find the mesh of disparate styles to be interesting, it can also be a bit disconcerting or even annoying for those looking for a cohesive sound. You can’t deny the brilliance of Bon Iver, Bon Iver although I do hope their next effort has a more focused aesthetic and sound.

Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031 @gmail.com.

5 Albums for Sleep

January 24th, 2010 • 3 comments Commentary, Op-Ed
Tags: ( ), Bon Iver, Dead Men Don't Smoke Marijuana, For Emma Forever Ago, insomnia, Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala, pet sounds, S.E. Rogie, Sigur Ros, Sleep, the beach boys

A friend of mine once said, “are you planning on sleeping tonight? Because when you do, have a nice sleep.” For many, however, it is not that simple. It has been estimated that about one in every eight Americans suffer from insomnia, and, while this statistic may alarm you, it perhaps does not have to be this way. My secret to getting a good night’s sleep is almost always throwing an album on to lull me into my REM cycle. While there are a number of albums that really do the trick, I am going to leave you, insomniacs of the world with five of my personal favorites presented in alphabetical order by the band’s name.

The Beach Boys – Pet Sounds

Certainly among the best albums recorded ever, its a drifty arhythmic masterpiece of sweeping multipart vocals and heavily layered instrumentals. It is certainly an album you should take a listen to while you are awake and conscious, but for me those horn lines on low volume are like musical NyQuil.

Bon Iver – For Emma, Forever Ago

This low-fi masterpiece from 2007 has some heavy lyrics that may be off-putting to the average sleeper, but the drifty wistful nature of Bon Iver’s musicality easily deposits me into dreamland by the third or forth track of the album. Its earthy and elemental stripped down nature is something special. Read more »

Editor’s Picks: 30 Best Albums of the Decade

December 24th, 2009 • 1 comment Commentary, Electronic, Folk, Hip Hop, Op-Ed, Rock
Tags: Amadou & Mariam, Animal Collective, Bjork, Bon Iver, Brian Wilson, Bruce Springsteen, David Sanford & The Pittsburgh Collective, DJ Danger Mouse, Fleet Foxes, Gregory and the Hawk, Gui Boratto, Jens Lekman, Jonsi and Alex, Lil Wayne, M83, Noah and the Whale, Phoenix, Radiohead, Ryan Adams, seabear, Sigur Ros, Sin Fang Bous, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens, The Arcade Fire, The Hold Steady, The Shins, TV on the Radio, Yeasayer, Yelle

1. The Arcade Fire – Funeral

This album made baroque pop cool again, something that seemed unachievable after the Beach Boys fell apart.

2. Ryan Adams – Gold

Gold is alternative country at its very best, chocked full of sublime instrumentation and sentimental lyrics.

3. Bruce Springsteen – We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions

The Boss sings Pete Seeger and brilliance results; there is something fantastic about the combination of Springsteen’s voice and Seeger’s lyrics.

4. Yeasayer – All Hours Cymbals

All Hours Cymbals is an album for the decade lyrically, thematically, and instrumentally.

5. Jonsi and Alex – Riceboy Sleeps

Jonsi and Alex’s post-rock/ambient masterpiece is an album to listen to all the way through (8+ times) to really catch it’s flavor. Read more »