REVIEW: Bon Iver "Bon Iver"

At my sink, emptying out the half full wine glasses that sat stale from where they were placed the night before, running the cool water to wash the lip prints away; as though they’d never been kissed at all. A half dozen maple logs ban together and burn themselves in the fireplace, protesting this early morning chill. Their roar, along with the slow perk of my morning coffee, accompanies the lazy summer tree tops in lifting the heavy sun. Another day, here on earth, readies for all our attention.

Bon Iver’s sophomore LP Bon Iver has been upon us for most of the summer with its Neapolitan triumph of originality, folk, and easy-listening flavors. Bon Iver is weighty with Justin Vernon’s ability to layer a composition both instrumentally and vocally. As heavy as each song hits on this record, every moment floats over the listener; notes dancing in the ether between your head and the ceiling fan.

Much thicker than their debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver adds strings and horns as well as a much fuller drum track throughout. Vocally, the layered falsetto brilliantly continues the choir feel on this record that has become synonymous with the Bon Iver sound. Unlike so many (I want to say Hip Hop artists, but I do not consider current pop rap as Hip Hop nor do I consider any of them artists) people that write about rims, riding dirty, hoes, etc., auto-tune is used by Vernon to once again convey a creative vision. At no time throughout Bon Iver does it come across as abrasive or annoying; which it seems to do nearly ninety-eight percent of the time on the work of others.

Though this is nine songs and one interlude of magic, the only song I’d really like to talk about is “Beth/Rest”. I’m not sure how it fits on this record, yet without batting an eye it does. Separated from “Calgary” by a short interlude, the song brings an easy, almost theatrical, finally to Bon Iver. “Beth/Rest” takes everything you loved about 1980’s soft rock and miss it. It takes everything you hated about 1980’s synth soft rock and make you regret not owning three copies of Can’t Slow Down.

In fact, upon the release of Bon Iver, I heard that Lionel Richie regularly calls Justin Vernon and cries into his voice mail.

Enjoy Bon Iver by Bon Iver! I hope you already own it. If not, buy it.

ON TOUR:

08-08 Toronto, Ontario - The Sound Academy
08-09 New York, NY - The United Palace Theatre
08-10 Brooklyn, NY - Prospect Park Bandshell
09-07 Minneapolis, MN Orpheum Theatre
09-08 Council Bluffs, IA - Stir Cove
09-09 Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theater
09-11 St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
09-12 Dallas, TX - Winspear Opera House
09-13 Austin, TX - The Long Center for the Performing Arts
09-15 Phoenix, AZ - Comerica Theatre
09-16 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre
09-19 Los Angeles, CA - Shrine Auditorium
09-22 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theatre Berkeley
09-24 Troutdale, OR - Edgefield Ampitheater
09-25 Vancouver, British Columbia - Orpheum Theatre
09-26 Seattle, WA - The Paramount Theatre
10-19 Manchester, England - O2 Apollo
10-20 Dublin, Ireland - The Canal Theater
10-22 Edinburgh, Scotland - Usher Hall
10-24 London, England - HMV Hammersmith Apollo
10-26 Utrecht, Netherlands - MCV
10-27 Brussels, Belgium - AB
10-29 Paris, France - Trianon Palace
10-30 Cologne, Germany - E-Werk
11-01 Berlin, Germany - Columbiahalle
11-03 Oslo, Norway - Sentrum Scene
11-04 Stockholm, Sweden - Globen Annexet
11-05 Copenhagen, Denmark - Falkoner
11-06 Hamburg, Germany - Docks
11-09 Birmingham, England - O2 Academy
11-10 Leeds, England - O2 Academy
11-11 Bristol, England - Colston Hall