Bon Iver strikes a chord
Bon Iver: Bon Iver
Release Date: June 21, 2011
Length: 39:25
Genre: Alternative
Label: Jagjaguwar
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Few albums in recent memory are as striking as Bon Iver’s latest.
To have as much of a following as Justin Vernon (the mastermind behind the “group”) and only be as far as your sophomore album is saying something. Not to mention, it is no small feat for your talents to be featured on an album classified in a genre almost opposite to yours. I am speaking, of course, of Vernon’s auto-tuned inclusion on the fabulous song “Lost In the World” from Kanye West’s “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.”
Vernon’s previous and first studio album under the Bon Iver moniker was released in 2008 and aptly titled “For Emma, Forever Ago.” I use the word “aptly” because to enthusiastic fans, it probably did seem like forever ago. Four years later, with the release of “Bon Iver,” the wait is over and Vernon’s sound is better than ever.
It is almost immediately apparent that this album is vastly more percussive and electrified than the last. The first song, “Perth,” utilizes a surprisingly rapid succession of drum parts.
What makes “Perth” truly compelling is what birthed it. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Vernon revealed that his inspiration for the song was the news of actor Heath Ledger’s passing. While at his parents’ house shooting the video for the track “Wolves” from the first album, director Matt Amato (a close friend of Ledger’s) received the call informing him of the actor’s death. An excerpt from the article reads:
“ ‘So I’ve got this guy in my house whose best friend just passed away. He’s sobbing in my arms. He can’t go back to L.A. because the house is under siege. Michelle Williams is calling my parents’ phone. All this stuff.’ For the next two days, Amato drank brandy, cried and reminisced about Ledger riding horses back home in Perth. The morning he left, Vernon wrote the song’s first draft.”
And what a hauntingly beautiful tune it turned out to be.
In the broad scope, “For Emma, Forever Ago” was simply Vernon singing and playing guitar. This album employs more electronics and production in the form of keyboards, electric guitars and vocal effects.
However, one of my favorite songs from the album, in terms of vibe, is a throwback to the first album. It is called “Holocene” and is simply Vernon with a guitar. There are a few sonic effects thrown in here and there for good measure, and they only serve to further the song’s heartfelt and hopelessly romantic feel. The song feels like it should be in the next film directed by Zach Braff.
A high point of this album is its last song, “Beth/Rest.” It is completely reminiscent of a late 1980s/early ’90s ballad sound a la Bryan Adams or Phil Collins. Some may consider this a bad thing, but the sound and vibe of this album as a whole is one that makes its own path, and to do a song that is a direct throwback to what many would consider outdated and “cheesy” only fits that motif.
All throughout the album, Vernon demonstrates his signature falsetto vocals. As scary as it sounds, auto-tune can even be found in places, namely the aforementioned “Beth/Rest” which, again, given the vibe Vernon was going for, really only adds to the album’s lasting and ironic impression.
I listened to this album before I had ever heard “For Emma, Forever Ago.” After I listened to the new album a few times, I went back and checked it out. It was good. That is, I can say about it. Bon Iver fans of old may want to lynch me for that because of the rightfully special place it holds in their hearts, but in comparison to the new album, it is just that — simply good. I used the phrase “hauntingly beautiful” earlier to describe the song “Perth,” but really that phrase applies to the entire album. It gives a feeling of sadness, possibly even despair, yet feels extremely hopeful at the same time. Few albums have the capacity to pull off both so well.
If Bon Iver stayed away from Oregon on their current tour it would be criminal. Thankfully, that’s not the case. Justin Vernon and Co. will be playing a show where all the cool kids play these days, at McMenamin’s Edgefield Amphitheater on September 24.
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