Bon Iver really need no introduction at this point. This indie folk band lead by mastermind Justin Vernon just seem to get bigger and bigger as the years go on. When I first heard Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago", I was absolutely floored by it. The sheer amount of emotion, mainly sadness, on that record is almost unbearable. Add in Vernon's sweet vocals and a warm cozy atmosphere, and you have one hell of a folk album. But Vernon and Bon Iver didn't stop there. Before the release of their next album, Vernon started making some big time friends that seriously began to affect the sound of Bon Iver's music. Firstly, he became close with James Blake, which almost instantly had Vernon getting more interested in electronic music on Bon Iver's "Blood Bank" EP. Vernon also became close with friend of the world Kanye West, with Vernon showing up on multiple tracks on West's seminal "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy". All of these new friends seriously had a huge effect on Bon Iver's next album, "Bon Iver, Bon Iver". The album was a gigantic success, winning many Grammy's and appearing on just about every "Best Of" list that year. That being said, I seriously didn't care for it. Pick your jaw up off the floor and hear me out, will ya? Some of the instrumentals and Vernon's vocals on "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" were incredible. But I didn't feel nearly as many emotions listening to it, plus that thing was overproduced to unholy levels. I tried listening to it hundreds of times, even last week in preparation for this review, but I still enjoy Bon Iver's earlier work much much more. Which is why when I heard this album was more of an electronica album, boy oh boy I got worried. I wanted to hear emotion from Justin Vernon again, I wanted an album that was going to make me feel all warm and fuzzy, and hearing that instantly discouraged that notion. Not to mention, once I saw the tracklist I was confused and frightened, I doubted I was going to find any warmth in a track called "10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⊠ ⊠". So lets see what Vernon and Bon Iver have brought to the table this time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssdgFoHLwnk
(So many years later, still amazing)
The album starts off pretty coldly with “22 (OVER S∞∞N)”, right away this clearly was not the intro I was looking for. Even though I kinda had a feeling on what to expect. it’s still pretty darn chilly. Bon Iver have given up a lot of live instrumentals here for a more sample based sound for the most part, but honestly, they do it justice. Once Justin gets warmed up on vocals he sound honestly warmer than ever, his voice has really grown tremendously with age. The glitchy production is going to come off super annoying to some, but call me crazy, I dig it. Even though tracks like “22 (OVER S∞∞N)” are so quiet and small sounding, there’s a great power behind all of them. The instrumentals aren’t overpowering, but to call them anything less than epic would be lying. The keyboards that float through are sweet, and that saxophone solo is absolutely killer. So so far, I really don’t have a lot of complaints by this point in the album, and by this point I have a whole lot more to talk about than Bon Iver’s last album. Moving on to “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⊠ ⊠”, the track starts off with these intense, sloppy drums. Justin Vernon here seems to be taking a big page out of his buddy Kanye’s book and trying out the sounds Ye produced on “Yeezus”. It’s not pretty, it’s pretty gruesome, it’s muddy as hell, but Bon Iver make it work strangely enough. It’s ugly, but it works. The samples floating through the background are truly haunting, and Vernon’s vocals here aren’t nearly as soothing. Vernon though hops on some James Blake styler vocal effects and regains the attention of the listener pretty quickly. All I can say is, like Kanye’s “Yeezus”, this album is going to alienate the hell out of Bon Iver fans. Some are going to accept it, and others are going to cling on to their vinyl copy of “Bon Iver, Bon Iver”, Starbucks coffee in hand. I don’t mind it one bit though, and those drums that come booming as well as Vernon’s more bluesy vocals make this one killer track. The instrumental to “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⊠ ⊠” by the end of the track has become absolutely stunning. “22, A Million” is an album you have to be super patient with for it to pay off, but it is worth it. A few tracks later, Bon Iver break out the very odd “33 “GOD”’. The intro to this track is absolutely bizarre, with no instrumental really giving away too much. Some of the samples Vernon has assembled aren’t just random tracks thrown together, they all fit very nicely in the atmosphere surrounding these tracks. The distant strings that always sound so far away sound so warm, but the chilling synths constantly keep them at bay. Honestly more than anything, those strings make me feel nostalgic for his early, very woodsy recordings, but as far as contributing to the atmosphere those strings do wonders. When things pick up on “33 “GOD”” everything just gets so smooth. Vernon has decided against the more muddy, abrasive production on this one which is a solid idea. The instrumentals floating through the background, such as the horns, continue to sound so distant. It almost sounds like your dreaming, and those horns in the distance are actually happening and that electronic beat is keeping you dreaming. Whatever Bon Iver are going for, it’s incredibly eye opening. Then, for all you old school Bon Iver fans up next we have a real treat. “29 #Strafford APTS” is the closest thing you’re going to hear to folk music here, and it’s really solid to be perfectly honest. The intro is as warm and cozy as it should be. When those strings come in behind Justin Vernon’s vocals, things become absolutely breathtaking. These are by far some of the best vocals on the entire album, there really isn’t a weak spot from start to finish. Lyrically, I dunno, it’s alright. Between this album and Bon Iver’s last album I really don’t think his lyrics are as ground breaking as he or his fans believe they are. These are solid lyrical performances though, I can’t completely knock them. “29 #Strafford APTS” overall is really good, up until those last few production tricks that are just kind of annoying. I only really have one major issue so far, and it really doesn’t let up either for the remainder of the album. The tracks on “22, A Million” really don’t stand a chance on their own. On their own, they sound like incomplete thoughts, solid ones, but incomplete. As a whole though, it’s special.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxPWfoBWa8k
The sleekness of “22, A Million” as well as the confusing song titles continue on with “666 ʇ”. The atmosphere that Justin Vernon has assembled here quite frankly commendable. It’s equal parts cold and distant, while also being dreamy, and strangely inviting, it’s hard to pull off. “666 ʇ “ gets started with once again Bon Iver not giving away not too much at all. Justin’s vocals on this one are so tiny sounding, while those instrumentals occasionally peaking out behind that electronic wall are charming. As far as Justin’s vocals go, these are some of his most soulful here, and when everything else picks up around him “666 ʇ” becomes absolutely stunning. The drums that eventually work their way in are thunderous, and every other instrumental follows suit, making “666 ʇ” probably the most epic track here. Once again though as solid as some of these tracks are, you have to be really patient with them, this is a casual Bon Iver fan’s nightmare. If you are patient though, so many of these tracks pay off. “21 M♢♢N WATER” is up next with easily the most serene intro you’re going to hear on this album. Justin’s always been so good at painting these atmospheres. Hell, this is so good, I’d even go as far as to say I’d love to hear Bon Iver try more with ambient music, because this seriously is overwhelming. Justin’s vocals are solid here once again, but very soft, making “21 M♢♢N WATER” one of the quietest spectacles I’ve heard in a while. This track turns even crazier once all the instrumentals start clashing into one another. It’s messy as hell, but I can’t and don’t really want to turn away. However, like I said, it is messy, and some people are going to walk right by this without a peep. Lets get into some more underwhelming tracks. “715 - CRΣΣKS” early on in the album takes a little too much out of the playbook of James Blake, to the point where multiple times while I was writing up my notes for this I actually wrote “James” instead of Justin. Hell, this sounds like it would have fit awful nicely right on James Blake’s self titled album (with a little less of an R&B sound that is). And it’s a shame, because Justin’s vocals here are really solid, and show just how smooth his voice has become. Not to mention, hearing the contrast of his actual vocals clashing up against the vocals smothered in effects is pretty much a spectacle within itself. “715 - CRΣΣKS” is overall not terrible. But outside of Justin’s vocals, there’s literally nothing really happening at all, I need atleast a little more of an instrumental to enjoy this. Then we have “8 (circle)” which brings in a strong 80’s throwback sound, which if you listened to Bon Iver’s last album, won’t surprise you one bit. I’ll give “8 (circle)” this, it’s really nice to hear Justin without all of these vocal effects for a change. But while his vocals are spectacular here, and there’s a pretty instrumental and all, this track does NOT have to be over 5 minutes long. The horns that pop in are nice. The atmosphere is serene. But 5 minutes of this? I could see maybe 3 minutes, 3 and a half would be pushing it. There are all these little passages that keep popping up that just don’t need to be there. It’s still not terrible though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96t0rlPmn2E
Let’s wrap this up, so far to be honest this review is going a whole lot smoother than I thought it would have. “____45_____” starts off with a nice little horn solo that’s pretty solid, honestly wasn’t expecting that. As this album goes on, I feel like Justin’s vocals become less saturated behind these effects used. Here, we see Justin trying out some almost jazzy vocals. It’s ok, but overall “____45_____” isn’t the most exciting track here, I do give Justin credit though for breaking things up nicely. Which brings us to the finale, “00000 Million”. Right from this intro, if you’re a Bon Iver fan you know you’re in for a treat. Here, we’re getting just the right amount of contrast between Justin’s vocals, the piano melodies, and these super dense yet gorgeous atmospheres. The harmonies here couldn't be more on point, and the samples Justin continues to throw in to these recording continue to be well thought out. Listening to “00000 Million” absolutely gives me the chills, mostly because as electronic and left field this album has been, THIS is the track I wanted to hear from Bon Iver. Justin is 100% the star of this one, and every single one of his talents is on display in the fullest. His performance here is absolutely tear jerking, much more so than anything I’ve heard from Bon Iver since their debut album. What a truly beautiful finale.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FqojM1TYqo
Rating: 8.1/10
Give A Listen To: “22 (OVER S∞∞N)”, “29 #Strafford APTS”, “666 ʇ”, “00000 Million"
Overall Thoughts: Going into this album I seriously wasn't expecting much at all, Bon Iver seriously have't impressed me in years. Then I heard what Bon Iver were doing on this album as far as their sound and I honestly almost didn't give this a listen. But, I'm glad I did. This sheer bizarreness of this album goes far beyond the track listing (I still don't get like half these titles). "22, A Million" is sometimes messy and abrasive, while other times relaxing and serene and warm. It's strange, but also absolutely gorgeous. A word of advice though, if you're going to check it out, listen to it all the way through, these tracks are meant to be played together.
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