 | Bon Iver |
The further adventures of Bon Iver continue this time with an EP release, his first release since the folk brilliance of “For Emma, Forever Ago”. That first album was one of my favorites of 2008, garnering the #3 spot on my own personal top 10 list for the year. It is an album that still feels as fresh and frankly haunting today when I listen to it as it did when I first heard it. That album was infamously recorded in a remote cabin in Wisconsin, which really influenced the album in obvious ways. Now this EP comes after worldwide acclaim and several tours across the U.S., so it may not carry the same weight as its predecessor, but it certainly shows that Justin Vernon has still got it.
The most notable thing in this release is the heavier amounts of instrumentation and amplification used on the tracks here that was largely absent in the album. These are factors that started to show up more in his live shows as he translated his cabin-rock masterpieces for a full band and for audiences, and that trend continues here.
“Blood Bank”, the title track, starts out right along those lines. It keeps the same soulful sincerity that he had before and just dresses it up with a little more tempo and a little more rock. It treads that line of bittersweet harmonies that were on the first album, but here it is not quite as remote, and not quite as distant. Although “For Emma” often is about relationships (or a girl), it still sounded like Justin was in a vacuum. It was really like an inner monologue. Here it sounds a little more like an extroverted Justin that is maybe interacting with the outside world, and not just reacting to it and feeling it. Regardless of any description though this song is just really badass, and the falsetto “I know it well” is just vintage Bon Iver, and why I love this guy. So cool. I think the other cool thing about this song is he actually kind of belts it out a little more than he did on the last album, which really ties to his live show. When you see him live and he just belts out “Skinny Love” you are just like “whoa”, and that is kind of how I felt here.
“Beach Baby” starts out in the same folksy vacuum that “For Emma” operated in, but drops in a lap steel lick to show you that this is indeed not “For Emma” redux. This song is good but way too short, I feel like he could have explored this one a lot more. Also the most somber track on the record.
“Babys” starts out with driving piano chords building into a Justin-falsetto bridge. This song has a really, really fucking cool sound to it I think. The piano combined with the soulful vocals of Vernon just sounds awesome and is kind of a match made in heaven. It is odd to hear the somewhat king of winter-ness to sing a song about summer, but I guess that is where hope sneaks into this record, which is also a change of pace. The song outros with the driving piano chords and a strummed acoustic. And also pretty cool.
“Woods” is going to be the divisive song here mainly because Justin has decided to go Kanye West on us and use *a lot* of autotune. Now the way he uses it is fairly unique and inventive, and I actually like the song, but I kind of wonder whether the autotune is really necessary. I really wish I could hear this song without it and just with his voice just for comparison. Either way, it is a 100% a capella autotuned song (probably the first, last and only one ever). It is the same verse over and over again, with each time another vocal harmony brought in until at the end there is a whole chorus of autotuned Justin Vernons. The lyrics are very isolationist, seeming to describe leaving the world behind and just chilling in a cabin like he actually did. Once all of the vocals are added in, it creates a very interesting soundscape that sounds really cool. In listening to it the first time I went from thinking “oh dear god no, not the autotune” to “man that actually sounds pretty damn cool”. It also gives him a chance to throw in some of his old R&B leanings with some Boyz 2 Men style vibrato singing. Though the autotune is weird in this context, it actually kind of works.
Overall, these songs are pretty damn solid, though I feel like “Blood Bank” and “Babys” are the two real A+ gems here and really the strong standalone tracks. “Beach Baby” shows some vintage Bon Iver, but the song never really develops like I feel it could have (it clocks in at only 2:40). “Woods” has a cool sound to it, but it kind of feels like a bit of a mad scientist song for Justin, with him just seeing what he could do with the idea. The end result is cool but it smacks of heavy experimentation. If you are craving more Bon Iver like I was, then this is a solid pickup. This is a slight tide over, but it kind of leaves me wanting more once again. Vernon still has the goods, and he shows that “For Emma” wasn’t simply brilliant because of his surroundings, but that he can bring us brilliant shit outside of that environment. Anyone who saw his live show could have told you that, but this just continues his streak, and all we can do is hope he keeps going.
Also, as I have previously pointed out, you can stream this EP online to check it out.
He is on tour now in Australia with the following upcoming dates. I have seen him live before and he is awesome, so go see him if you can.
01.21.09 Angel Place, Australia – City Recital Hall
01.22.09 Sydney, Australia – The Famous Spiegeltent
01.23.09 Sydney, Australia – The Famous Spiegeltent
01.24.09 Angel Place, Australia – City Recital Hall
05.15.09 Somerset, UK – Minehead – All Tomorrow’s Parties
05.18.09 Brighton, UK – Dome – Brighton Festival
05.19.09 Dusseldorf, Germany – Zakk
05.20.09 Hamburg, Germany – Knust
08.12.09 Oslo, Norway – OYA Festival 2009
