Bon Iver - Bon Iver

We have a problem. I’ve come to find Bon Iver’s new, self-titled record inappropriate. Now I’m no Daily Mail prude, shocked at the slightest deviation from the right, and I’m not suggesting this album should be banned, in fact quite the opposite. I’m just suggesting that it needs a curfew. Let me explain.

Here today as I write this review, the sun is high in this cloudless afternoon, the days are growing in length and the temperature is a lovely 19 degrees. In other words it’s a pretty good summer’s day. Yet I’m not sure Bon Iver’s album fits in.

First off, let me say that if you were a fan of Justin Vernon’s debut record under the moniker of Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago or his follow up EP Blood Bank then you’ll be pleased to know that Bon Iver plays out almost as if a sequel: similar themes [we find serveral more songs named after American States here], similar sounds, yes, but this is no repeat or rehash.

Track eight on the record ‘Calgary’ is a particular highlight. More animated than Bon Iver’s usual output, the song builds and really demonstrates the full force of Vernon’s voice so often underplayed. The only oddity on the album is the album closer Beth/Rest which sees further experimentation with Autotune, as was the case of EP closer ‘Woods.’ I get what Vernon is attempting to do, but the song comes off as a cheesy 80s tune, and one that is better off forgotten.

Bon Iver is like a cool winter’s breeze. At first it makes you want to cocoon yourself in your coat, pull down your hat or hide under the sheets. But when tracks like ‘Holocele’ and ‘Minchicant’ hit, you’ll remember why you love winter: the ice crisp fresh air, the childish excitement of snow, and you’ll never want to come in from the cold. Yes, summer days like today don’t really suit the mood of the record and it’s better saved for dark nights and the frozen months ahead, but either way I look forward to it because I know it’ll be a ‘Bon Hiver’, as the French say: a good winter.

Daniel W. Raper