Indie rockers leave small cabin studio for sophomore effort’s bigger sound, venues
Rating: A-
The eagerly-anticipated sophomore, self-titled album from indie darlings Bon Iver, which released yesterday, is no slump.
Vernon, whose well-known story of recording "For Emma, Forever Ago" in a secluded log cabin in Wisconsin during the wintertime, has come a long way since its release in 2008. The album has continued to grow into what is now official cult status. Vernon gathered former bandmates and a few new collaborators to give the album a much more expansive sound. You can hear more layered electric guitar, horns including saxophones and trumpets, along with beautiful backing violin strings.
Opening track "Perth" has a very Sufjan Stevens vibe, especially toward the end of the track where the horns have the most impact. There are no "lazy" tracks to be found; each one has its own multi-faceted layering of sound. This new album really sounds bigger, which goes with Bon Iver's growing musical impact and audience.
This bigger sound can be expected now that Vernon is keeping company with the likes of Kanye West, whose latest album credits Vernon on multiple tracks. Thankfully there are no guest tracks from Mr. West, even though the familiar Auto-Tune does present itself again on this album, but not as directly as the well-known "Woods" from "For Emma, Forever Ago." The group continues to gain popularity with guest spots on popular late-night talk shows such as "Jimmy Fallon," along with a pretty extensive concert tour that will hit cities this summer and into the fall.
The track titles on "Bon Iver" all elude to a certain place, real or not, such as "Perth", "Wash" and "Minnesota, WI," but the tracks don't seem to have a unique marker. In other words, listeners will likely have a hard time remembering which song title belongs to which track. Not to say the album is forgettable — it just doesn't hit as raw and pure as the first album. Though what made the previous album great was more of its haunting texture and honesty, and this is still found on their latest. The new album has a much lighter tone — probably due to the extra help Vernon received from added bandmates — which gives the album a bigger skip in its step.
After getting used to hearing Vernon's falsetto, it is nice to hear his "true" voice, a deep rumbling, at the opening of the track "Minnesota, WI." The familiar falsetto kicks in halfway through the track, with what feels like a reassuring chorus of "never gonna break / not for a part in any gamut of the dark". Closing track, "Beth/Rest" is the chanciest one of the bunch. Vernon has compared it to a Bruce Hornsby homage, but whatever sound you compare it to, it is definitely not a "safe" track.
Though there are no standout tracks comparable to "Re: Stacks" and "Flume," from Vernon's first album, Bon Iver's newest is a beautiful body of work that does not disappoint.
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