Justin Vernon – the man behind Bon Iver – has the incredible knack of extracting mothering instincts from music journalists. When the release of his new album, ‘Bon Iver’, was announced, there was much hand-wringing and concerned sideways head tilts as he was asked in interviews about what sort of mental state he was in right now – was he in a happier place during the writing and recording process? It’s unsurprising really, given the back-story of his 2007 debut, ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’, and the raw emotion laid out on those songs. The question they should have been asking though is: do we want Vernon to be happy? If he’s able to consistently produce music of the quality exhibited on ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’, then isn’t it worth making him endure sporadic bursts of isolation? Shouldn’t we regularly fly in people for the sole purpose of breaking his heart? You may feel this is a cruel way to elicit music from a man, but … well … fuck that. If it means he produces a stunning sophomore album, then all the better.
From the off it looks like ‘Bon Iver’ continues where ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ left off, with Vernon singing, “I’m tearing up, across your face” as the opening line of ‘Perth’. But the song develops into something much bigger, much grander than anything on the previous release. Marching drum rolls feed into huge guitars, horns and layer upon layer of texture. This opening track sets the tone for the whole album.
‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ seemed to be all about isolation, in more ways than one. This album exhibits an open and expansive sound, giving real depth to Bon Iver’s music. Even the place name song titles suggest a need to spread out, with ‘Perth’ moving seamlessly into ‘Minnesota, WI’, with ‘Calgary’ and ‘Lisbon, OH’ popping up later on.
There’s still the intimacy to be found: the fragility. ‘Towers’ offers both tenderness and simplicity, producing a sound somewhere between Chad VanGaalen’s ‘Skelliconnection’ and Sufjan Stevens’ ‘Illinois’. ‘Hinnom, TX’ proves that Vernon only needs some haunting, echoing synth and just over two and a half minutes to break your heart. In fact, the middle chunk of the album is all introspection and well-placed emotion. Things don’t approach anything near euphoric until the steady build of ‘Calgary’.
Okay, so maybe we were harsh for wanting Vernon to suffer for our benefit. On the strength of this album it’s obvious he’s not just a one-trick-pony who needs to be punched in the life in order to get the creative tears flowing. ‘Bon Iver’ represents a mature evolution in sound and makes us keen to see the next step.
-David Standen-
