Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver

One of the records I’ve looked forward to most in 2011 is Bon Iver’s long-awaited follow-up to 2007’s For Emma, Forever Ago.

For Emma was largely the product of Justin Vernon’s three-month escape to a cabin in northern Wisconsin.
By now you’ve surely heard this astoundingly impressive album. Listening to it is an intimate and and emotionally intense experience you don’t soon forget.

But the trick of making a record like that is it’s terribly difficult, if not impossible, to replicate.

Thus, a lot of people blown away by For Emma, myself included, awaited the next full-length with bated breath.

I picked it up when it came out a few weeks ago and have now listened to it a few times through.

As you can see, the artwork and packaging is stunning.

The record itself is an emphatic statement of intent sure to be appreciated by even the most ardent cynics and doubters. It’s clear that Justin Vernon isn’t going to rest on his laurels.

Indeed, what is most evident is the extent to which Bon Iver, Bon Iver is a departure from For Emma. One can even make a reasonably compelling case that it’s a complete inversion. Whereas For Emma is lyrically-driven, instrumentally sparse and musically spare, the focus of Bon Iver, Bon Iver is on complex sound arrangements, sophisticated instrumentation and intricate musical composition. The feeling of the record is also overwhelmingly light and almost ethereal compared to the heavy, forceful thump to the chest/heart of For Emma.

To be sure, Justin Vernon can still tell a moving tale – the theme of place/displacement seems to me a powerful and unifying element.

I suppose the thing is: we already know that he can write powerful lyrics and he knows we know it, too. This record is, ultimately, a display of and testament to what a talented musician Vernon is.

I can only say, with that in mind, that Bon Iver, Bon Iver is an unmitigated success.