"I am my mother's only one / It's enough"
Bon Iver's self-released debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, was a cogitative look at a man's deteriorating life. That man, Justin Vernon, "hibernated" in a log cabin for three months, pouring his personal heartaches of the past decade into song form. His widespread success critically and with a mainstream audience is a testament to his relatable desperation. We've all been there: depressed and fed up with life; but whereas most people bite their lower lip and move on, Bon Iver purged his negativity into one of the greatest introspective folk-albums of our generation.
The beauty here is that Vernon's zero-to-hero story hasn't changed the man's image at all. This is a guy who, around this time last year, had flown down to Hawaii to work with Kanye West on the sensational 2010 LP My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. There was a lot of head-scratching when news broke of Kanye's friendly relationship with Vernon. On one hand you had hip-hop's most well known egomaniac, and on the other, an introverted indie-rock legend; but it made sense really: Kanye, like all of us, connected with Bon Iver's passionate harmonies. By using Vernon's voice, he was simply conquering another step of his own healing process.
"I'm up in the woods / I'm down on my mind / I'm building a still / to slow down the time"
Vernon's affair into the hip-hop world was initially inspired by Kanye's request to sample "Woods", the closing song on Bon Iver's 2009 Blood Bank EP. Weirdly enough, "Woods" makes use of the ever-controversial autotune feature - a first for Vernon, and, for that matter, any folk rock musician ever - and as such, it remains to this day the most divisive in Vernon's catalog. The way I see it, "Woods" was an outreach of experimentation that was more of a statement than anything else. Yes, Vernon at his roots is a simple folk rock musician, but give him some time and the right equipment, and he'll be sure to raise some eyebrows.
"I'm tearing up / across your face / move dust through the light / to find your face"
At its heart, Bon Iver is as emotionally intimate as Vernon's previous releases. The key difference here is that dice of experimentation seen on Blood Bank. Look no further than album opener "Perth"; Vernon softly strums a clean riff that's seemingly innocent, but he's soon joined by a building choir in the background and a marching snare in the foreground. When the chorus hits, the guitar harshly wails and horns pander through in the mix. The build up reminds of the likes of Sufjan Stevens; it's an all around different man already, and we're only four minutes into the album.
"Minnesota, WI" follows shortly after, further promoting Vernon's new-found taste of using his band rather than remaining solo. There's slide guitar, distorted effects, and a rambling, plucked banjo that swiftly moves throughout the song. Bon Iver is jam packed with cute flairs and experimental whispers. "Lisbon, OH" is nothing more than a brief ambient interlude with beeping samples, but it somehow transcends into a heartfelt, Steve Winwood-1980s-slow-dance that has absolutely no direct comparison to the rest of the album. It's romantically cheesy and almost downright ridiculous, but Vernon's mature approach to the complete absurdity of this situation makes it work in the most bizarre way possible.
"Danger has been stolen away / This is us"
Despite all of these added nooks and crannies, Bon Iver sounds just as welcoming as he did on past releases. For Emma branched off as an intimate one-on-one conversation, but on Bon Iver, the same, tireless passion is shown wandering in an entirely different direction. The path is dense with surprises and a repertoire of bells and whistles played by his talented and equally modest band. Is this an improved Justin Vernon? Time will be a factor here, but the consistent melodies and overwhelming creativity are a good indicator that it just might be.
Confession: I typed the first half of this review almost two months ago. My brief hiatus from my blog was disappointing (mostly to myself) but my love for this album has stayed and arguably grown. One thing that hasn't changed, however, is my view on Vernon himself. Bon Iver shows an evolved Vernon, an experienced Vernon, a man that hasn't forgotten his humble beginnings. All of our past loves and our repressed doubts for the guy are somehow packaged into a 39 minute product that flies by in the best way possible. It's apparent briefness and it's lack of imperfection constructs a piece of work that is career defining. Maybe this is an evolution in Vernon's still-infant discography. Maybe this is a one-off experiment that will yet again be challenged by a future release. Maybe, just maybe, Vernon will move back into his log cabin and never record another album. I wouldn't be surprised; honestly, Vernon is just a simple-minded man with a gifted talent. But what separates Vernon from most other musicians is the connection made between him and the listener. He's genuine and upfront, and I like that. Such clarity on an album so left-field for a folk musician is rare, but instead of questioning this I'll just hit play, over and over again.
4.5/5
Reccomended Tracks: "Perth", "Minnesota, WI", "Wash.", "Holocene", "Calgary"
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