Second studio album by the American indie-folk group. The
follow-up to their critically-accled debut record, 'For Emma,
Forever Ago' (2008), the album sees the band adopting a more
complex and orchestral sound. Tracks include 'Calgary' and
'Perth'.
BBC Review
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Whatever maudlin magic musician Justin Vernon found in the
remoteness of rural Wisconsin come the close of 2006 and the dawn
of 2007 - made devastatingly real on his debut LP as Bon Iver,
For Emma, Forever Ago - it's something that many another artist
has been trying to conjure since. Dispatch a band into isolation
today, to cajole those creative juices, and inevitably some
plucky press type will label them as "doing a Bon Iver". The
album's impact on today's indie-folk scene, and beyond, was
powerful, and global commercial success was the unlikely
culmination of Vernon's catharsis following the break-up of both
his previous band and a relationship.
For this follow-up, Vernon and band - among them Sean Carey,
whose own solo debut, We All Grow, was released to fine reviews
in the summer of 2010 - have developed the sound of For Emma…
without over-stretching themselves and making a mess of
arrangements which are all the more effective for their striking
intimacy. There must have been temptation to draft in a name
producer - but Vernon sees to that side of the process too, and
this control has resulted in a set that's as arresting in its
first few seconds, Perth's rolling percussion providing a base
for Vernon's exquisite emoting, as it is come the David
Gilmour-styled guitar showmanship of closer Beth/Rest. This is
how to spend an improved budget (though anything is more than
nothing), and expand a sonic palette, without compromising what
appealed in the first place.
To some, the consistent mood that pervades this set - of
reflection, introspection; d and sincere, but never
cloyingly so; melancholic, but not without a blurry, horizon-line
optimism - might lead to attentions wandering. And there's no
doubt that this eponymous collection isn't the step into
immediacy that some might have expected, or even hoped for. But
the majority of listeners will surely come to this aware that
nothing on For Emma… leapt from the speakers with quick-fix
frills attached. This - like Wild Beasts' sublime Smother,
Julianna Barwick's otherworldly The Magic Place, and How to Dress
Well's Love Remains - is one of the year-so-far's finest albums
when it comes to repeat-play value: each spin will uncover
something previously missed, a tiny but essential nuance that was
obscured by a hypnotic motif the first and second time around.
Vernon's songs may appear skeletal on an initial encounter; but,
on closer inspection, they reveal studied layers and levels of
masterful design.
There can be no doubt that certain critics will have come to this
album expecting it to fall short of the precedent set by its
predecessor. That it doesn't, and actually far surpasses the
still-echoing resonance of that debut set, is indicative of its
standing as one of 2011's most absorbing, affecting and downright
brilliant LPs. It just goes to show that there's really only one
act capable of "doing a Bon Iver".
--Mike Diver
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