Bon Iver’s self titled album dropped today, and my finger is starting to hurt from clicking the replay button. With the overwhelming power of his last CD, For Emma, Forever Ago, I had high hopes for this CD, and Justin Vernon didn’t disappoint; he nailed it again!
This seems to be a very different album from his last, which was unabashedly raw and candid. It was about one central idea and feeling that came out in every song, loss. This album, Bon Iver, doesn’t seem to surround one central theme – at least from what I can tell after the first couple of listens – though many songs reference geographic locations. There’s a lot more musical variety displayed on this album, each song is very unique. What makes this album great is that, even with this variety, all the songs still come together to make one great, cohesive album.
Some of my favorite songs, right off the bat, are Holocene, Towers, Michicant, and Calgary (his first single). The weakest song, in my opinion, is at the very end, Beth/Rest. Not to say that this song is terrible, but it’s almost right out of the 80’s, and a little too cheesy for my liking. Despite the last song, this entire album warrants multiple, entire track-list, listens.
Here is the official video for his song Calgary:
Divided Love 