Send "Bon Iver " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Sputnikmusic |
 Bon Iver’s debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, was immensely popular in a kind of way that seemed to undoubtedly foretell disaster, or at least some sort of disappointment, for its successor. This was because Emma wasn’t exactly well-regarded due to, say, originality or whatever, but because of the album’s background, its mythology, and how it perfectly presented its narrative. Its story – which is such a well-trod tale that I feel as if I need not repeat; go read some other review for that stuff – overwhelmed, overshadowed, and became the album itself. We, as listeners, couldn’t help but consider the personal hells Vernon fought through to record Emma, and these thematic associations created some sort of unique emotional impact or resonation upon a listen to the album: every lyric seemed painfully and particularly personal, every song seemed chokingly yet intimately intense. Thing is, this saddles Bon Iver’s eponymous follow-up with unrealistic expectations that it doesn’t deserve. Yet they exist nonetheless: we yearn hungrily to be whisked back to that same emotional state we were at when we heard Emma for the first time, regardless of whether that’s fair to Vernon or not. We want this album to mean as much to us as its predecessor did. Perhaps this is why Bon Iver, Bon Iver doesn’t take too many drastic, dramatic risks. It’s essentially the album we’ve expected, something that’s more relaxed and confident – the latter aspect reflecting Vernon’s success, most probably; you don’t guest on a Kanye West album and not come away feeling pretty great about yourself, I’d imagine – but it’s still very much For Emma’s successor, still very much a Justin Vernon album. Most notably, Vernon manages to retain the same intimacy and immediacy of a singer-songwriter album while operating in a full-band format, increasing his sonic palette and resulting in songs that seem sturdier, more full-bodied. “Holocene,” for instance, sounds tired, wistful, causing Vernon’s signature falsetto to seem a little more frayed and appealingly haggard than usual, and this is all augmented by Colin Stetson’s smooth, slithering saxophone and S. Carey’s muddled, endearingly imperfect drum rolls. These elements gather to form a richly satisfying whole, thanks to the assistance....full text |
| Andpluckyourstrings |
| ‘For Emma’ was so 2008. Welcome to the newer, meaner, denser Bon Iver. A year ago it seemed alien to imagine a Bon Iver song that required more than a couple of instruments, but in reality this new, more complex sound is a direction that Justin Vernon has been hinting at in his live shows for the better part of three years. The fact that he never tried to transcribe the sparseness and desolation of ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ into a live show, but instead insisted on using a full band and plenty of instrumentation, was perhaps an indicator that he thought the album was impossible to recreate. And that he hasn’t tried to recreate ‘For Emma’ in Bon Iver’s latest self-titled album turns out to be nothing short of a stroke of genius. Bon Iver’s debut album, as incredible as it was, was utterly unique. It was born out of a strange coincidence of circumstances that saw Justin Vernon isolate himself in a remote Wisconsin cabin. It was carried by the ambiance of that cabin, as well as the soaring falsetto of Justin Vernon, but not much else. It was sparse and beautiful, as moving as it was minimalistic. But it was also truly impossible to recreate. Any attempt to do so would appear artificial, whether it involved Justin Vernon once again cutting himself off from the outside world to record music or electronically added background noise intended to capture the same feel. No, there was no way to make another ‘For Emma’. Instead, Bon Iver have gone for something completely different in their sophomore album, and, somehow, it has ended up just as captivating and beautiful as their first record, which is something I thought was truly impossible. Each track on ‘Bon Iver’ is named after a location, presumably one that has inspired the writing of the song. Depending on your perspective that’s either a nice touch or a bit gimmicky. Geographic symbology has always been very strong in Justin Vernon’s songwriting, but up until this point it had always been buried just beneath the surface. I can’t help but feel that by choosing the path that they have Bon Iver have removed some of the ambiguity, subtlety, and mystery from their music, but regardless it’s not something that will affect the experience of listening to the album....full text |
| Prettymuchamazing |
| Justin Vernon, at the heels of a showstopping performance with Kanye West at this year’s Coachella Music Festival, has announced that his band, Bon Iver, will be releasing their madly anticipated self-titled sophomore effort on June 21st via Jagjaguwar. Bon Iver‘s 10 tracks are said to feature “silky electric guitars, beautifully intricate keys, and subtle horn and string sections.” Below, you can watch a video of a nameless 50-second sample of music from the new album, featuring a painting that turns out to be the album’s cover art....full text |
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