Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon writes incredibly beautiful and intimate music. There’s something about it that reminds me of winter’s isolation. I think it’s the way his voice interacts with the music. His tenor both floats over the moving stream of the music and interacts with its layers. There’s really a chamber music quality to the way all of the instruments and voice come together, especially the band’s use of dynamics.
The stuff of legend now, Vernon wrote and recorded his first album, “For Emma, Forever Ago,” under the Bon Iver moniker alone in a cabin in Northern Wisconsin. The new Bon Iver record, “Bon Iver,” was recorded as much more of a full band affair. This approach has added new and more expansive layers to the music by recording with strings and horns in addition to bass, drums, and guitar. Recording this way has added a greater depth to the soaring quality that’s always been present in Bon Iver’s music. Importantly, the intimacy—one the music’s most enthralling elements—is still there.
Topically, Vernon's writing continues to be deeply personal. And it is this fact —and the stunning imagery he uses—that makes me feel so connected to Bon Iver’s music. The songs are both abstract and concrete at the same time. Vernon has said in interviews that “Bon Iver” is about “being ready to spend your life with someone and still feeling good about who you are.” The opener “Perth” is the awaking and the closer “Beth/Rest” is the reward.
“Bon Iver” is so heartfelt, so crushingly powerful that it’s hard to stop listening to it and I haven’t really wanted to. It’s an album that I love by an artist whose music I feel deeply connected to.
Here are some live tracks from the album.
Calgary
Holocene
Towers
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