The hallmarks that made 2008’s For Emma, Forever Ago an instant classic and critical favourite still abound: the plangent guitar, Vernon’s haunting, near-ubiquitous falsetto and the ethereal, ruminative melodies. But Bon Iver shows definite progress. Bringing new instruments and influences to an already robust palette, Vernon successfully blends a variety of sounds and textures into uniquely beautiful creations. The album gains confidence as it progresses, branching out into previously unexplored territory.
New additions to Vernon’s sonic repertoire include the military rat-a-tat percussion of opener “Perth”, which builds to a swell of horns and strings. “Minnesota, WI” boasts an African influence with funky, slightly fuzzy guitar, horns and sax. “Towers” has a country twang courtesy of some well-placed strings, while “Wash.” And “Holocene” are delicate tunes where the chilly chime of a piano mingles with marching snare (on “Holocene”) and string swells and subtle vocal harmonies (on “Wash.”).
Bridging the gap between For Emma and Bon Iver, “Holocene” is Vernon at his best and most familiar. With its finger-picked guitar and halting, stop-and-start rhythm the song is both fragile and complex, but unlike much of For Emma’s track listing it’s tinged with hope. The chorus “I can see for miles, miles, miles” anticipates a brighter horizon, as does the forward-march patter of the drums and the delicate sounds of synthesizer and chimes building to a euphoric crescendo.
The second half of the album sees Vernon eschewing the technological austerity of For Emma and self-consciously embracing his electronic interests. Unfortunately, these tracks are hit or miss. The best of these is “Hinnom, TX”, which plays with synth textures and merges them with a flurry of horns and layered vocal harmonies. “Lisbon, OH”, on the other hand, is a brief and unnecessary interlude consisting of intermittent blips and bleeps. On “Calgary”, the exaggerated airiness of a synth pad makes the track sound at first like a forgettable early 90s ballad, but builds to something much more palatable when the distinctive slap of the drums obscures the synth bluster and Vernon’s voice settles into the groove, accompanied by bold screeches of electric guitar.
Closer “Beth/Rest” encapsulates 80s pop at its best and worst. An homage to Bruce Hornsby, the track features cheesy 80s piano and blatant synthesizer, ultra-electrified guitar and even the distinct twang of AutoTune distorting Vernon’s vocals. It doesn’t fit into the rest of the album by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s also not entirely polarizing. There’s clearly a heartfelt earnestness behind this endeavour, although I’m not sure why.
On the whole the album doesn’t disappoint, and moreover proves that For Emma was not just a one-time success. Despite a few missteps and wrong turns, Justin Vernon is definitely moving forward as Bon Iver, and we’re all enjoying the view along the way.
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Pros: Intricate, captivating, unique sound
Cons: Very slow, last three tracks are rather disappointing
NOMAG : 3.8 / 5
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Buy the record on iTunes // Visit the band’s website here.
By Rebecca Hiscott
