Justin Vernon bought a cabin in northern Wisconsin, and locked himself in there for the winter of 2006. The resulting album, For Emma, Forever Ago, was recorded under the name Bon Iver, and was a masterpiece garnering critical acclaim and many fans. Earlier this year, he released and EP, entitled Blood Bank, with similar styles and the cold feeling of winter permeating the sound.
For Emma opens with “Flume,” a mid-tempo campfire-like song. One important thing to know about Bon Iver is that the vast majority of his vocals are in falsetto, but not like Mika or anything. It’s a gorgeous, gentle, sound, and it goes perfectly with the lazy guitar strumming that backs it. The next track, “Lump Sum” is slightly more up-tempo, despite a vaguely-choral beginning, and almost sounds like the opening credits of an indie movie about two days in some teenager’s life. This song brings up images of fall and bicycles in my mind. Another important thing to note about Bon Iver is this; I looked up his lyrics, and I still don’t have a damn clue what he’s saying. It’s all very poetic though, as though if his music career had fallen through, he could’ve become Wisconsin’s Poet Laureate.
“Skinny Love” is probably the most famous song off of the album, having been featured on Grey’s Anatomy. However, the song was already a minor hit in the UK before this. I. LOVE. This. Song. It’s strumming guitar and wailing vocals are perfect for just about every mood, but it does make me a little sad when I listen to it. “Wolves (Act I & II)” has the first real harmony on the album, and it’s very noticeable. It has a bare bones recording, until the swelling bridge, in which there are harmonies abundant, echoes, crashing cymbals, what sounds like fireworks off in the distance, and… is that autotune? It’s fucking incredible, but you have to wait through the near silence of “Act I” to get there.
“Blindsided” is another one of my favorites. This time, his chest voice is much more prominent, but he’s not afraid to switch into falsetto for the effect of a melody. The melody is simple, but just as powerful as anything else on the album. By this time you figure out that one of Justin Vernon’s most powerful tools is silence. This song features another powerful bridge, though perhaps not as mighty as the one in “Wolves.” “Creature Fear” is the most outwardly fast-tempo song on the album, despite the characteristically mellow verses. The drums go straight on through into “Team,” a short and sweet instrumental that sort of wants to have an encompassing melody, but hasn’t quite gotten there yet. It’ll call you when it does. “For Emma” echoes earlier devices, and “Re: Stacks” is JUST SO BORING.
I’m kidding. “Re: Stacks” is actually a great song. The guitar is somewhat muted, but it seems less strummy than the other songs; the sound is more pure, more melodic and less rhythmic. The choruses of this song is very rhythmic, however, featuring a staccato, percussive high notes with low notes scattered between. This is the longest song on the album at 6:41, and it almost echoes “The Trapeze Swinger” in it’s wonderful, repetitive love.
Blood Bank‘s title track is about as real and concise as Bon Iver gets; “Well I met you at the blood bank/We were looking at the bags/Wondering if any of the colors/Matched any of the names we knew on the tags./You said “see look that’s yours!/Stacked on top with your brother’s/See how the resemble one another/Even in their plastic little covers’” and that ends up being a love story. Nuff said.
“Beach Baby” is a quiet, smiling song, and features the first use of ant instrument besides acoustic guitar: slide guitar. The inevitable Iron & Wine comparisons are strengthened even further here. It’s a short track, at 2:35, and has just one verse and then an outro. The next song, titled “Babys” (so much variety) enters with dissonant and rapid piano that almost makes you want to skip the track. Don’t do it. This song again fails to disappoint, with weird lyrics (“Summer comes, so multiply.”) the standard haunting vocals, and an actual, active energy that is so often missing in his songs. However, the melody and general instrumentation are nothing incredible, so this song just sinks into the rest of his magnificent catalogue.
I can’t stop listening to “Woods.” It starts, and you think that maybe your iPod has switched to Kanye West accidentally. But no, this track is done entirely in autotune, remeniscent of “Hide & Seek” by Imogen Heap. It has a single stanza that repeats over and over for 4 minutes, adding a new harmony or stylization each time, allowing you to sing along, but noy get bored by any means. This song is one of the most underrated songs ever; it deserves an award of some sort.
Alright. Off to Driver’s Ed.
Bon Iver
