Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

[weekender]

Has anyone heard the debut album by Bon Iver (singer-songwriter Justin Vernon) as yet?  It's been getting rave reviews, so I thought I'd give it a chance.

Here's some blurb:

it wasn't planned. The goal was to hibernate.

Justin Vernon moved to a remote cabin in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin at the onset of winter. Tailing from the swirling breakup of his long time band, he escaped to the property and surrounded himself with simple work, quiet, and space. He lived there alone for three months, filling his days with wood splitting and other chores around the land. This special time slowly began feeding a bold, uninhibited new musical focus.

This slowly evolved into days filled with twelve-hour recording blocks, breaking only for trips on the tractor into the pines to saw and haul firewood, or for frozen sunrises high up a deer stand. All of his personal trouble, lack of perspective, heartache, longing, love, loss and guilt that had been stock piled over the course of the past six years, was suddenly purged into the form of song. The end result is, For Emma, Forever Ago, a nine-song album comprised of what's been dubbed a striking debut by critics and fans alike.

Bon Iver (pronounced: bohn eevair; French for "good winter" and spelled wrong on purpose) is a greeting, a celebration and a sentiment. It is a new statement of an artist moving on and establishing the groundwork for a lasting career. For Emma, Forever Ago is the debut of this lineage of songs. As a whole, the record is entirely cohesive throughout and remains centered around a particular aesthetic, prompted by the time and place for which it was recorded. Vernon seems to have tested his boundaries to the utmost, and in doing so has managed to break free form any pre-cursing or finished forms.

For Emma's tracks consist of thick layers draped in lush choral walls, with rarely more than an ancient acoustic guitar or the occasional bass drum providing structure. Vernon sings the majority of the record in falsetto, which painfully expresses the meanings behind its overt, yet strangely entangled words. This newfound vocal path acts as each song's main character and source of melody.

Despite its complexity, the record was created entirely by Vernon with nothing more than a few microphones and some aged recording equipment. This homemade aspect shows itself in sections as creaks and accidentals are exposed in the folds of the songs, but is hidden well by the highly impressive and almost orchestral sound that Vernon managed to produce by his lonesome, within the creaky skeleton of his father's cabin.

I've only listened to a couple of tracks so far, but I really like it.  There's a touch of Elliott Smith, John Lennon (circa early-70s Ono Band time) and Nick Drake but it's very distinctive at the same time.  The choral singing of 'Lump Sum' contrasts nicely with the underlying drum rhythms in a far better way than fucking Enigma.  He's touring later this month, not in my vicinity unfortunately, but if anyone's seen/going to see him, maybe you could bung a review up?  Any other thoughts?

[Eight Taiwanese Teenagers]

He's playing before my favourite, Jens Lekman, in a couple of weeks in London. Looking forward to it.

[fremsley]

Supoprting Iron and Wine in Sheffield next week, may have to fork out.

Truly beautiful album, all sad small and broken and howling at the moon. I've found that my need to play it has diminished the warmer it gets though. Very much a winter thing maybe.

Laura Barton wrote a really great piece about it in the Guardian a while ago: http://music.guardian.co.uk/rock/story/0,,2260638,00.html

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

I think it's alright but his falsetto kind of gets a bit tiresome I think, it sounds a bit too unnatural and borderline-whiney on every song. I really liked the idea behind the album and when I read how the songs had been written and recorded I was really excited as it sounded just like my kind of thing but only a couple of the songs grabbed me at all. I really like Flume but other than that it didn't do enough for me. I'll probably give it another go at some point but I felt it was a bit of a let down after all the hype.

[Mindbear]

I checked him out a while back and I didn't really enjoy it.

[drberbatov]

Decent album, it sorta has the same loneliness vibe of a Dennis Wilson song though obviously more primal

[Caroline]

He's playing before my favourite, Jens Lekman, in a couple of weeks in London. Looking forward to it.

Yeah! I only found out he was supporting and now I must dedicate myself to getting into that sold out gig at all costs. I really like the album.

[A Passing Turk Slipper]

I'll probably give it another go at some point but I felt it was a bit of a let down after all the hype.

I've given it another go and am enjoying it a lot more, definitely a grower. Really nice night time listening. His falsetto still kind of jars with me at bits, like the end of The Wolves, but in general I think its fine. Still not sure how much I enjoy it, but definitely warmed to it today.

[explodingvinyl]

I cannot stop listening to this album...

Tour in September apparently. Though it says that he's playing Academy TWO in Manchester which would be horrific.

[Mindbear]

I didn't enjoy him at all until I saw him play on Jools Holland. His music suited the live medium very much....I haven't listened to the album yet but I'm hoping it's as great as people say.

[explodingvinyl]

I didn't enjoy him at all until I saw him play on Jools Holland. His music suited the live medium very much....I haven't listened to the album yet but I'm hoping it's as great as people say.

What had you heard before Jools? I was slightly disappointed to that he didn't have the other guys with him too. The album has some incredible harmonies and double/triple layered unison vocals which make the melody sound really strong and vibrant, I'd have liked to see that in a live context.

Still, he's got an incredible voice.

[fremsley]

Favourite album of the year so far, I think. Really benefits from a totally immersive headphone session, there's so much atmosphere in the songs, weird and barely detectable noises. It's really complex in a very quiet way. And his voice is astonishing.

[actwithoutwords]

I fucking love Flume, and I'm getting in to the rest of it. I was initially put off by the multiple tracked vocals. Reminded me of TV on the Radio a bit, who irritate me.

Did this only come out here recently or is it a re-release by the way? The first chance I gave it was in December, and it was only after hearing Flume as the intro song to The National in the Olympia that I gave it another go a few weeks ago.

[CaledonianGonzo]

He's playing Edinburgh in September, so I may mosey along, but as yet the album's not really grabbed me.  I'm persevering, though, as, more often than not, I come to enjoy albums I have to work at more than ones I fall in love with on first listen.

[Pie Pie Eater]

I think I only really like this album because I saw him at ATP and it was awesome. So my advice is: see him live then relisten! I think with records like this it is so much about whether you believe the feelings they are trying to convey are real, which comes across much more strongly in a live setting.

[Sam]

explodingvinyl played "Stacks" on tonight's CaB radio show and it really caught my ear. This artist managed to completely pass me by, despite the fact that this sort of thing is right up my street. He is reminiscent of people like Elliott Smith, Nick Drake and Bonnie Prince Billy - all of whom I love - but still manages to have his own voice. I love the atmosphere in his songs. On some I can't really place what the mood is, whether it's happy or sad or neither, and I really like that. For the last few hours I have had "Stacks" on repeat and it just gets better with every listen - who would have thought a song about poker could be so utterly beautiful?

Anyway, great stuff. Cheers to exploders for getting me hooked!

[explodingvinyl]

explodingvinyl played "Stacks" on tonight's CaB radio show and it really caught my ear. This artist managed to completely pass me by, despite the fact that this sort of thing is right up my street. He is reminiscent of people like Elliott Smith, Nick Drake and Bonnie Prince Billy - all of whom I love - but still manages to have his own voice. I love the atmosphere in his songs. On some I can't really place what the mood is, whether it's happy or sad or neither, and I really like that. For the last few hours I have had "Stacks" on repeat and it just gets better with every listen - who would have thought a song about poker could be so utterly beautiful?

Anyway, great stuff. Cheers to exploders for getting me hooked!

Any time, my dear. If you're into the atmosphere of the song (which I agree is sublime), then you'll want to read a bit of back story about where he was when he wrote it etc.

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/45817-for-emma-forever-ago

[Emma Raducanu]

Downloaded this album last week and have been enjoying it ever since, which surprises me every time.

[no_offenc]

He's doing ATP this May as well, specifically the weekend The Breeders are curating.  I do hope it's a full band setup, if only because the last time I saw someone doing a quiet solo set at ATP (Joanna Newsom in 2006) they were drowned out by all the fucking cunts who couldn't bear to be quiet and actually watch and instead stood fucking talking to their mates.  Loudly.

[Deadeye Dick]

Hopefully I'm not dragging this too off topic, but has anyone else heard the new Bon Iver EP, Blood Bank?  It's an interestng record - as far as I'm aware, it's recorded with the live band in tow, and if nothing else it shows that his sound survives outside of that sodding cabin the press keep blabbering on about (ignoring the fact that the back story is probably the least interesting thing about the album).  None of the tracks scale the heights of The Wolves or Flume for me, but the title track is incredibly absorbing, and the two subsequent tracks are rather lovely too.  I'm a bit uncertain about the final track, Woods, right now (consisting entirely of his voice, put through auto-tune and layered over itself into infinity - an interesting experiment, but not something I can really see myelf listening to much), but overall it's a nice companion to For Emma, and definetely worth the time of anyone who's already a fan.

[Abbatoir worker]

He's doing ATP this May as well, specifically the weekend The Breeders are curating. 

Is anyone going to have a spare bunk for this?  I have never to this day managed to motivate/organise enough of my friends in time to get to ATP but I really want to do this one. 

[Emma Raducanu]

Sleep on the street or in bus stops like the rest of us.

[Abbatoir worker]

Sleep on the street or in bus stops like the rest of us.

My combination of old age and straight-edgery almost certainly precludes this, but thanks for the insight into your social life DF :)

[Abbatoir worker]

Hopefully I'm not dragging this too off topic, but has anyone else heard the new Bon Iver EP, Blood Bank

And to drag this back sort of on topic, thanks for the tip - just got hold of this and it's lovely.  I saw them at End of the Road and I thought they were mesmerising, hence being keen to see them again at ATP... 

[no_offenc]

There's a very very vague chance myself and my mates may have a spare bed in our chalet (we only have 5 in so far and we're getting a 6-berth) but we ain't even paid for it or asked around our other, lazier mates yet so for all I know it could well have already been snapped up by somebody.

[Abbatoir worker]

There's a very very vague chance myself and my mates may have a spare bed in our chalet

Ok cheers I'll chat to you about it further at the meet?  There's a very very vague chance I might be doing merchandise for Teenage Fanclub but I'm looking for as many options as possible atm.