Rating 9/10
A sophomore album for a band that has a successful debut album is often a huge obstacle and a career defying moment. If the album is too similar to the debut album then the artist can be seen as a one trick type of band and fans can become disinterested. If the album departs too much from the original sound a band can be deemed too experimental and drive away fans that were attracted to the original sound. Such was the predicament for the Wisconsin band Bon Iver following their critically acclaimed debut album For Emma, Forever Ago in 2008. Now three years later Bon Iver has released a magnificent self titled album that further solidifies front man Justin Vernon’s ability to write consistently great songs.
Opening track “Perth” has been very appropriately described as a “Civil War-sounding heavy metal song” not necessarily because it is heavy but because it incorporates heavy elements such as rolling snares and double bass over hauntingly repetitive guitars. While the tracks differ amongst one another it is clear less than halfway through that Bon Iver has developed a shadowy type of album; featuring music that has a cold ethereal feel and the signature ghostly falsetto vocals of Justin Vernon, much like For Emma, Forever Ago. However, Bon Iver is certainly not a simple recreation of the first album. Instead the musical styling seems to have greatly matured and built itself off of the solid foundation that was laid in the debut. The songs have a much thicker feel to them, abandoning the raw stripped down sound of the previous album. Instead, Vernon incorporates various instrumentations such as horns, synth, and rhythmic bass and drums, and production elements such as auto tune. The new songs also seem to take inspirations from other artists with resemblances to a darker Dave Matthews on track “Minnesota WI” and even a retro influence that could be compared to artists like Phil Collins on “Beth/Rest”.
One of the appealing aesthetic choices that Vernon included on this album is the songs titles, which mostly feature names of places such as Minnesota WI, Hinnom TX, and Lisbon OH. This makes Bon Iver much more enjoyable for the fact that Vernon also includes visual images in his lyrics, like in the song Holocene “Strayed above the highway aisle jagged vacance, thick with ice, but I could see for miles, miles, miles”. This allows the listener to not only feel the location through the chilling music, but to see it through the lyrics, and to identify it through the title as well. Because Vernon keeps this theme consistent throughout Bon Iver, the album seems to borderline on a concept album which documents Vernon’s travels.
The only let down of this album is the length totaling ten tracks; including one instrumental. However, Vernon makes up for this with the fact that not a second of this album is wasted because there is absolutely no filler. Each track carries its own influences and creates its own atmosphere while still keeping the core Bon Iver sound with each track flowing effortlessly into the next; making this album wonderfully constructed.
If you are a fan of the debut album then it only takes one listen to reveal that Bon Iver has given us an absolutely beautiful sophomore album. If you are new to this band I can assure you Bon Iver is a must have album for this year that is so easy to fall in love with.
Album High Points: Perth, Minnesota WI, Hinnom TX, Beth/Rest
Album Low Points:
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