I do wonder how much attention Bon Iver's 'For Emma, Forever Ago' would have got without the story that went with it. Seriously, did you read any reviews of that album that didn't mention the log cabin, the heartbreak and the hunting?
In any case, Justin Vernon is back with a four track EP which moves on from heartbreak and general musings on hopelessness and lethary to a vague theme of seasons changing and the pursuit of winter warmth. The title track features Vernon singinig largely without his familiar falsetto, but the traditional simple strumming is present. Until a fuzzy electric guitar break towards the end, its all very pleasant but a little bit Coldplay.
The middle tracks, 'Babys' and 'Beach Baby' feel like inconsequential interludes, piano, electronica and falsetto but little that lingers long in the mind. Closing track 'The Woods' certainly does though, with just once verse sang over and over again with varying multi-layered harmonies it is quite haunting. As the song progresses, distortion is used on the vocal sounds to create an other-worldly sound, but it ruins the effect somewhat. It is an interesting experiment though, unsettling but with no small amount of beauty.
This is a patchy EP, with really only one fully formed song and some ideas and experiments. It serves as a reassurance that Vernon can write music without retreating to a log cabin but in terms of quality is a little disappointing.
5.8
['Blood Bank' is out now on cd, 12" and download on JagJaguwar]5.8
Showing posts with label Bon Iver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bon Iver. Show all posts
Monday, 19 January 2009
Tuesday, 29 July 2008
Bon Iver Dayrotter session
Daytrotter are spoiling us this year. We have already waxed lyrical on here about Low and Mountain Goats sessions and now Justin Vernon and Bon Iver have recorded a new session. You can download it here..
http://daytrotter.com/article/1359/bon-iver
and of course it must be fabulous. Mustn't it?
Hmm, well. First thing to say is that there are no new songs, covers or anything like that, just 4 songs from 'For Emma..'. I can't quite put my finger on what I don't like about this session. The vocals seem a touch higher than on record and don't fit quite as well and the songs are all given extended intros and/or outros which makes them lose their focus somewhat. Its all a bit jazzy.
But...you may disagree entirely. The session is there to download anyway.
Review of new Conor Oberst and Haley Bonar LPs coming soon.
http://daytrotter.com/article/1359/bon-iver
and of course it must be fabulous. Mustn't it?
Hmm, well. First thing to say is that there are no new songs, covers or anything like that, just 4 songs from 'For Emma..'. I can't quite put my finger on what I don't like about this session. The vocals seem a touch higher than on record and don't fit quite as well and the songs are all given extended intros and/or outros which makes them lose their focus somewhat. Its all a bit jazzy.
But...you may disagree entirely. The session is there to download anyway.
Review of new Conor Oberst and Haley Bonar LPs coming soon.
Saturday, 26 April 2008
new Twilight Sad song
just a quick update, because my first week of working in London has left me feeling absolutely shattered and I've just been listening to Bon Iver on repeat all week anyway....
But! There is a new song on The Twilight Sad's Myspace! It is dark, brooding, menacing and hmm, almost shares a title with one of the tracks from their debut album. Almost, but not quite. 'Here It Never Snowed, Afterwards it did' is from a forthcoming EP, of which little is known so far.
You can hear it at.... http://www.myspace.com/thetwilightsad
But! There is a new song on The Twilight Sad's Myspace! It is dark, brooding, menacing and hmm, almost shares a title with one of the tracks from their debut album. Almost, but not quite. 'Here It Never Snowed, Afterwards it did' is from a forthcoming EP, of which little is known so far.
You can hear it at.... http://www.myspace.com/thetwilightsad
Friday, 18 April 2008
song of the year so far - Bon Iver 're:stacks'
Its been a funny year so far. In terms of music it has been wonderful, but for me there have been times of real uncertainty and worry regarding my working life. Things have turned out really well in the end and I start an exciting new job on Monday after leaving my previous job of seven years.
It has been a strange couple of months. I remember sitting on the train in February, at a time when I had to make a big, scary decision and reading Laura Barton's 'Hail Hail Rock n Roll' column in the Guardian, where she eulogised about Bon Iver, an artist who was then unknown to me, and wrote "...This is, I suppose, a perfect album to listen to if you need to make a decision, to leave somebody, or to stay with them, to quit your job, to get over someone. Its listening makes for solitary work; it requires concentration and dedication and a willing vulnerability, but in listening to it repeatedly you establish a kind of routine that frees your thoughts."
How right she was. 2 weeks later I was listening to the album ('For Emma, Forever Ago') and you can read my thoughts in a post below; it took me a while before I could bring myself to try and review it, so in awe was I of the record.
The record has followed me around ever since. It was playing on my ipod when I stood outside my new employer's offices before my interview two weeks ago. It was playing on my stereo the next day when they phoned to tell me I'd got the job. It is playing now, as I sit here thinking about next week. Excited/scared.
're:stacks' is my favourite track on the record because it is so calming. It is the last song on the album and after all that has gone before, it seems to settle everything into place, leaving all as it was before.
"everything that happens is from now on
this is pouring rain
this is paralyzed"
Its been a strange time. In a funny way these last few weeks have been like a state of limbo and maybe thats why Bon Iver has soundtracked everything so well ("it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away"). Everything moves on now, but I think this record will stay with me for a very long time.
It has been a strange couple of months. I remember sitting on the train in February, at a time when I had to make a big, scary decision and reading Laura Barton's 'Hail Hail Rock n Roll' column in the Guardian, where she eulogised about Bon Iver, an artist who was then unknown to me, and wrote "...This is, I suppose, a perfect album to listen to if you need to make a decision, to leave somebody, or to stay with them, to quit your job, to get over someone. Its listening makes for solitary work; it requires concentration and dedication and a willing vulnerability, but in listening to it repeatedly you establish a kind of routine that frees your thoughts."
How right she was. 2 weeks later I was listening to the album ('For Emma, Forever Ago') and you can read my thoughts in a post below; it took me a while before I could bring myself to try and review it, so in awe was I of the record.
The record has followed me around ever since. It was playing on my ipod when I stood outside my new employer's offices before my interview two weeks ago. It was playing on my stereo the next day when they phoned to tell me I'd got the job. It is playing now, as I sit here thinking about next week. Excited/scared.
're:stacks' is my favourite track on the record because it is so calming. It is the last song on the album and after all that has gone before, it seems to settle everything into place, leaving all as it was before.
"everything that happens is from now on
this is pouring rain
this is paralyzed"
Its been a strange time. In a funny way these last few weeks have been like a state of limbo and maybe thats why Bon Iver has soundtracked everything so well ("it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away"). Everything moves on now, but I think this record will stay with me for a very long time.
Thursday, 3 April 2008
Bon Iver 'For Emma, Forever Ago'
I'm still amazed at how many truly great records have emerged so far this year. Many of them have been from artists who were already very familiar to me, but for the last few weeks I've been listening to an album by someone of whom I knew nothing until very recently.
Laura Barton of The Guardian wrote a column back in February praising an album called 'For Emma, Forever Ago' by Bon Iver with such enthusiasm that I simply had to find out if the record could really be as good as she made it sound. Being unwilling, and probably fundamentally unable, to wait for the album to be released by 4AD in the UK in May, I managed to get an import copy of the album and have been playing it almost every day since, trying to get a grip on what to make of a truly unique record.
Bon Iver is in fact Justin Vernon. Following a split with his previous band, Vernon spent the snowy winter of 06/07 in a hunting cabin in Wisconsin, completely alone. During this time he wrote and recorded the songs on this record with a small amount of additional recording done later, mainly adding backing vocals and drums. The bulk of this record then, is simply Vernon singing and playing guitar. If you think that sounds dull, you'd be wrong.
9 songs, 37 minutes but so many melodies and hooks that your head will spin. You will find snippets of these songs appearing in your head all the time- on the train, while you're exercising, at work, in your dreams...
Vernon's voice is used as an instrument. A lot of the time you can't actually tell what he's singing without referring to the lyric sheet, he sings in a falsetto a lot of the time, but other times his voice is cracked and rough. He uses space to tremendous effect, the songs and the instruments are allowed to breathe and this makes you feel that you are sitting in the cabin with Vernon, listening to him play.
The album is very much a piece to listen to all the way through, but there are standout tracks. 'The Wolves' is simply haunting, with the bare minimum of instrumentation, Vernon lets his words hang in the space of the song. 'Creature Fear' meanwhile, has a fantastic release of a chorus that you are waiting for all through the song. 'Skinny Love' is the most catchy song here, with Vernon's voice at it's loudest and most cracked on the rousing chorus. The gorgeous final track 're:stacks' is quiet and somehow triumphant with lines like "its hard to find it when you need it/ when your money's gone/ and your as drunk as hell".
The best way I can describe this album is as a true listening experience. Listen to it enough and you'll feel like you're a part of it, as mad as that may sound. Unfortunately, though, no review is going to do this record justice or adequately describe how it sounds. I will say that whoever you are, if you are reading this you need to check this record out. You need to hear it. It may end up meaning a lot to you.
9.7
'For Emma, Forever Ago' is out now on import from Jagjaguwar and out in the UK in May through 4AD'
Laura Barton of The Guardian wrote a column back in February praising an album called 'For Emma, Forever Ago' by Bon Iver with such enthusiasm that I simply had to find out if the record could really be as good as she made it sound. Being unwilling, and probably fundamentally unable, to wait for the album to be released by 4AD in the UK in May, I managed to get an import copy of the album and have been playing it almost every day since, trying to get a grip on what to make of a truly unique record.
Bon Iver is in fact Justin Vernon. Following a split with his previous band, Vernon spent the snowy winter of 06/07 in a hunting cabin in Wisconsin, completely alone. During this time he wrote and recorded the songs on this record with a small amount of additional recording done later, mainly adding backing vocals and drums. The bulk of this record then, is simply Vernon singing and playing guitar. If you think that sounds dull, you'd be wrong.
9 songs, 37 minutes but so many melodies and hooks that your head will spin. You will find snippets of these songs appearing in your head all the time- on the train, while you're exercising, at work, in your dreams...
Vernon's voice is used as an instrument. A lot of the time you can't actually tell what he's singing without referring to the lyric sheet, he sings in a falsetto a lot of the time, but other times his voice is cracked and rough. He uses space to tremendous effect, the songs and the instruments are allowed to breathe and this makes you feel that you are sitting in the cabin with Vernon, listening to him play.
The album is very much a piece to listen to all the way through, but there are standout tracks. 'The Wolves' is simply haunting, with the bare minimum of instrumentation, Vernon lets his words hang in the space of the song. 'Creature Fear' meanwhile, has a fantastic release of a chorus that you are waiting for all through the song. 'Skinny Love' is the most catchy song here, with Vernon's voice at it's loudest and most cracked on the rousing chorus. The gorgeous final track 're:stacks' is quiet and somehow triumphant with lines like "its hard to find it when you need it/ when your money's gone/ and your as drunk as hell".
The best way I can describe this album is as a true listening experience. Listen to it enough and you'll feel like you're a part of it, as mad as that may sound. Unfortunately, though, no review is going to do this record justice or adequately describe how it sounds. I will say that whoever you are, if you are reading this you need to check this record out. You need to hear it. It may end up meaning a lot to you.
9.7
'For Emma, Forever Ago' is out now on import from Jagjaguwar and out in the UK in May through 4AD'
Thursday, 6 March 2008
Bon Iver - For Emma Forever Ago
I'd heard so much about this record, and all good, that I couldn't wait for the 4AD UK release in May and so bought the US import. Played it for the first time this evening and am struggling to describe it.
Its an incredibly atmospheric listening experience, so much so that you sometimes feel that he is in the room singing to you. It is also one of the most special, unique albums I have heard in a long time.
Full review soon.
Its an incredibly atmospheric listening experience, so much so that you sometimes feel that he is in the room singing to you. It is also one of the most special, unique albums I have heard in a long time.
Full review soon.
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