[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Bon Iver, Bon Iver (released June 21, 2011)"]
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This is a much anticipated album for many people, including myself. The success of Bon Iver's first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, was immediate. It was released in February of 2008 and won immediate praise from radio stations and music critics across the globe. It was also an unintentional album, in a way, because the founder, Justin Vernon, spent the winter months in his father's cabin, planning on recovering from an illness. Instead, he began to write music using what was available to him. Now, Vernon has other band members who play with him and harmonize with his well-known falsetto.
Due to the success of Bon Iver's first album (excluding their EP, Blood Bank), Vernon has now worked with a number of artists, including Kanye West on his track "Lost In The Woods" from My Dark, Twisted Fantasy, in which West sampled the track "Woods" from For Emma, Forever Ago. Vernon also provided vocals on "Monster" (Kanye West), has played with Peter Gabriel, and worked on music for the movie New Moon (part of the Twilight saga).
Now, Bon Iver is finally releasing their second full-length album and it is beautiful. Well, in a month. But it was leaked last week on iTunes for a brief period of time. Lucky us!
Bon Iver has the same characteristically beautiful, resonant harmonies, and at the same time, the vocal simplicity of For Emma, Forever Ago...but its even better. Its more refined, its more distinguished. Its like sipping a fine wine. There is a different fullness to the sound but it still maintains clarity, if not more than the last record.
Each track is meant to represent a place, and as such, the tracks are named after different places, with the exception of the end track, "Beth/Rest".
Track Listing
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This is a much anticipated album for many people, including myself. The success of Bon Iver's first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, was immediate. It was released in February of 2008 and won immediate praise from radio stations and music critics across the globe. It was also an unintentional album, in a way, because the founder, Justin Vernon, spent the winter months in his father's cabin, planning on recovering from an illness. Instead, he began to write music using what was available to him. Now, Vernon has other band members who play with him and harmonize with his well-known falsetto.
Due to the success of Bon Iver's first album (excluding their EP, Blood Bank), Vernon has now worked with a number of artists, including Kanye West on his track "Lost In The Woods" from My Dark, Twisted Fantasy, in which West sampled the track "Woods" from For Emma, Forever Ago. Vernon also provided vocals on "Monster" (Kanye West), has played with Peter Gabriel, and worked on music for the movie New Moon (part of the Twilight saga).
Now, Bon Iver is finally releasing their second full-length album and it is beautiful. Well, in a month. But it was leaked last week on iTunes for a brief period of time. Lucky us!
Bon Iver has the same characteristically beautiful, resonant harmonies, and at the same time, the vocal simplicity of For Emma, Forever Ago...but its even better. Its more refined, its more distinguished. Its like sipping a fine wine. There is a different fullness to the sound but it still maintains clarity, if not more than the last record.
Each track is meant to represent a place, and as such, the tracks are named after different places, with the exception of the end track, "Beth/Rest".
Track Listing
- Perth
- Minnesota, WI
- Holocene
- Towers
- Michicant
- Hinnom, TX
- Wash.
- Calgary
- Lisbon, OH
- Beth/Rest
I feel like the best way to go through this album is track by track, because sometimes I have no frigging clue what the songs are about. And I'm not complaining about that. I love the fact that the lyrics are ambiguous (at least to me). I love that they are beautifully descriptive, inventive, and lyrical...but also unintentionally mysterious. There's a sense of wonder and mysteriousness in the lyrics which, combined with the music, infuses waves of feeling - between nothingness, and recognizing a great deal of emotions across the entire spectrum (am I even making sense anymore?).
So, here's what I'll do. I've already listened to the album several times (amazing) and I will go through track by track and write my thoughts about each of them. Let me know yours!
1. Perth
Begins with a beautiful and clear electric guitar which drops out as the marching-beat of a snare drum is paired with Vernon and company's falsetto voices and harmonies. Then, in a wonderful, symphonic moment, the guitar comes back in and joins up with the vocals, which imitate the riff of the guitar at the beginning. Beautiful. This track progresses and expands from the initial guitar riff and spectacularly signals that this album has a more developed sound than For Emma, Forever Ago.
2. Minnesota, WI
"Perth" bleeds seamlessly into "Minnesota, WI" - not in real life (clearly), but on the album. A more ethereal guitar with some reverb takes us into this track, with a driving timpani-like drum (I don't know what that is) and combined with an opposing acoustic guitar. and again, it all drops out except for synths and their vocal styles. Cue: sweet sassy saxophone harmonies in the background. There are a lot of instruments in this song, and they just weave in and out quietly. I'm not sure what this track is about but its beautiful. ("never gonna break/never gonna break/all at its seams/swallows swelling for the beams")
3. Holocene
Simple acoustic guitar opens this song and it seems to be a return to the more simple sound of Bon Iver's earlier music. This track has sweet overtones of Summer and peacefulness but the lyrics imply an emotional realization, whether its positive or not, I'm not sure though. ("...and at once I knew I was not magnificent./high above the highway aisle")
4. Towers
I feel like after 4 bars of intro, folk-country-inspired drums will kick into an upbeat ballad about sweet love. It doesn't though. Well, at about 1m45s some drums come in how I thought they might. But not quite an upbeat ballad about sweet love. So far, this album has so many subtle layers to each track, yet they sound so precise and simple. Its done really effectively. This is another ambiguous song - its about love (I think). but what kind of love? I don't know. Something about someone being like a tower and lots of references to climbing. Hmmm. What do you think about this one?
5. Michicant
A few notes on the guitar, a brief pause, and then immediately in with harmonized vocals. This track has a slow and sullen feeling to it. Bon Iver has a knack for keeping momentum and moving, flowing energy in their slow and emotionally-provocative ballads. In this tune, they use an effect that sounds like the bell that rings when you enter a small convenience store, and then start to add in other effects and they build as the song moves forward. There's an oom-pah-pah happening in the background. ("love can hardly leave the room/with your heart")
6. Hinnom, TX
Distant voices mixed with resounding echoes on a simple synth riff drive the beginning of this tune. And also a different and contrasting non-falsetto voice. Shall I call it baritone? I think I should. And that's all I've got to say about this track.
7. Wash.
A simple piano riff starts this track, followed by Vernon's falsetto a few bars into the orchestration to this track, which I am assuming is referring to Washington. In this track, they're singing in reference to a woman named Claire, and when they mention her name, there's something very distinct about it - it's a deeper tone, and its followed up with a quick burst of strings which punctuate her mention. And sorry, but again, I don't know what to make of these lyrics. The string-orchestration in this track is a beautiful addition though.
8. Calgary
Thanks for the Canadian mention, guys! This track starts with a synth and then quickly adds vocal melodies. It also picks up with the most pop-like drum track on the album. Maybe that's why this is the first single released from the album? Who knows. This could be totally off base, but it seems like there's a sense of release in this track, followed by a new-found peace. ("wake up to your starboard bride/ who goes in and stays inside/ oh the demons come, they can subside.")
9. Lisbon, OH
Begin this track with a higher pitched noise - maybe saw wave style? Maybe feedback? and combine that with bits and blips and a melody that slowly, over one minute, resolves into one simple synth chord, and you have "Lisbon, OH".
10. Beth/Rest
So Lisbon leads directly into "Beth/Rest". When I heard this song last night, I said to my girlfriend "It sounds like Michael Bolton is about to come in at any moment". The beginning of this track is borderlining on a late 80s/early 90s riff on the keys, but then the vocals come in and...oh wait, maybe it IS Michael Bolton with auto-tune? No I'm kidding. But I'm not kidding about auto-tune. It sounds like Vernon and the Bon Iver boys loved hearing their tunes mixed with Kanye's, and also loved the success of "Woods" and decided to reprise it. But complete that with some guitar riffs that sound like a love-scene from Ghost, and add in a bit of saxophone. That's this song! Except there is something about it that has more of an edge than that. It's good. It's really good, and it's captivating. And it doesn't actually feel like it's from the late 80s early 90s, but it does pay homage to it. There is a deep, deep meaning to this song, which I can't quite make out. Again. But one of the lyrics (which I managed to track down on the Jagjaguwar website) is "Aren't we married!?", so there is definitely something serious happening. It sounds like it should be a breakup or love-troubles.
So there you have it. That's my take on the album. I'd love to hear your thoughts about the lyrics. About the development of their sound. About anything, really. Please feel free to contribute.
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