Jagjaguwar, 4AD
Rating: 8.4/10Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has come a long way since the quaint little recording session in a cold and desolate cabin that birthed the wonderful For Emma, Forever Ago. One of the best records of 2008, For Emma still sees heavy rotation almost exclusively during the winter months. It just doesn’t feel right at other points throughout the year. The fact that it lacks a certain versatility of mood shouldn’t detract listeners who have yet to experience its icy bliss though.
Earlier this summer, Vernon and friends burst back onto the scene the somewhat confusingly titled Bon Iver, Bon Iver. The album art is stunning and reminds me of the inner lining of a sleeping bag that I used frequently as a kid. If the various side projects that surfaced between Bon Iver releases were any indication, I knew that this one was going to be treading down the path towards the fairly common, often frightening, “new direction.” I don’t believe that any fans of the first record were expecting a similarly stripped down and rickety sequel. But I also don’t concede that any of them could have predicted something so gleaming, so smooth around the edges.
Yes, the production on Bon Iver, Bon Iver is crisp, but it is not annoyingly slick. Instrumentally vivid and (at times) lush, Vernon simply exposes us to what we already knew was there, the sounds of an artist realizing his vast capabilities. Moments of pin-drop beauty intertwine seamlessly with countless examples of rhythmic and melodic prowess. Rusty and creaky guitar strings have been replaced by crystalline tones. Cinematic passages reminiscent of The National slide by amidst harmonies that are vintage Bon Iver. The instantly recognizable falsetto still soars, but Vernon ventures into baritone territory here as well. Varying payments of homage to some of the musical tacticians of the 80’s make their presence felt often.
The songs themselves hold up extremely well and mold together to form a journey that seems to fly by regardless of time of year or temperament of self. There might not be anything that measures up individually to the beauty of “Flume” or “Re: Stacks” (“Holocene” comes close), and I do find myself wondering what an “Mtv Unplugged” version of this album would sound like. Nonetheless, what we have here is a cohesive sampling of the aural paintings taking up wall space in Vernon’s creative psyche. My not-so-bold prediction: Bon Iver, Bon Iver will end up scattered across every single best of ’11 list that cyberspace has to offer, including my own.
BonIver.org
Bon Iver on Facebook
Buy on Amazon
No comments:
Post a Comment