Album: For Emma, Forever Ago
Artist: Bon Iver
Born: Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Released: July 2007
Genre: Folk
If I had to choose one word to describe this album, it would be intimate. Few records are as intimate as For Emma, Forever Ago, or as full of imperfections, like the buzzing of the guitar string on opening song Flume or the myriad mysterious mumblings throughout the album. The lyrics are often as opaque as the frosted glass window on the album's front cover, almost as if the words are secondary to the emotion being conveyed. Mainly recorded in his dad's shooting cabin in rural Wisconsin, it's one of the great break-up albums, with Justin Vernon mourning not just an ex-girlfriend but also his old band (DeYarmond Edison). Spending several months in isolation allowed Vernon the mental space to reflect deeply on events and it's this rarefied air that makes the record unlike any other folk or indie album released at the time. The prevailing atmosphere of the music is stark melancholy but it's also shot through with moments of joy and beauty. If there's one contemporary comparison, it's Iron & Wine, whose music also has a hushed intimate folk sound, but it's Vernon's wonderful falsetto voice and pop sensibilities that make him stand out from the crowd. Initially self-released in summer 2007, the record was re-released by indie label Jagjaguwar in early 2008 and became a moderate success on both sides of the Atlantic.
One of the most intimate and spare tracks, based around just muted guitar strumming and Vernon's grainy falsetto, is The Wolves (Act I and II), and the lyrics are some of the most direct and anguished on the album ("Someday my pain, someday my pain / will mark you"). Act II of the song sees a shift in mood, as the drums come clattering in. Other songs are more obscure and elemental, notably Creature Fear and Lump Sum, with its ancient, choral opening. As well as Flume, highlights for me are Skinny Love, Blindsided and re:stacks (another obscure song title). Skinny Love sounds even better live (see this performance on American TV for a measure of Vernon's intense singing), and that's because the words are genuinely felt; it's about being in the early stage of a new love affair that lacks substance (hence "skinny") because its main purpose is to help someone got over the pain of a previous relationship. Blindsided is one of the most moving tracks, exploring feelings of betrayal, while re:stacks is probably my favourite song on the record, as it feels like Vernon's moment of liberation from all the pain that has been weighing him down ("This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realisation / it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away / your love will be safe with me"). As with many of the songs, the lyrics are obscure (my guess is that the stacks are poker chips, a metaphor used here to give the sense of a drunk, desperate man throwing it all away), but again what's most important is the strength of the emotion. His second LP (2011's Bon Iver, Bon Iver) is equally stunning, and Vernon continues to evolve as a musician by collaborating with the likes of Kanye West, but nothing he's done matches the intensity of For Emma, Forever Ago.
If I had to choose one word to describe this album, it would be intimate. Few records are as intimate as For Emma, Forever Ago, or as full of imperfections, like the buzzing of the guitar string on opening song Flume or the myriad mysterious mumblings throughout the album. The lyrics are often as opaque as the frosted glass window on the album's front cover, almost as if the words are secondary to the emotion being conveyed. Mainly recorded in his dad's shooting cabin in rural Wisconsin, it's one of the great break-up albums, with Justin Vernon mourning not just an ex-girlfriend but also his old band (DeYarmond Edison). Spending several months in isolation allowed Vernon the mental space to reflect deeply on events and it's this rarefied air that makes the record unlike any other folk or indie album released at the time. The prevailing atmosphere of the music is stark melancholy but it's also shot through with moments of joy and beauty. If there's one contemporary comparison, it's Iron & Wine, whose music also has a hushed intimate folk sound, but it's Vernon's wonderful falsetto voice and pop sensibilities that make him stand out from the crowd. Initially self-released in summer 2007, the record was re-released by indie label Jagjaguwar in early 2008 and became a moderate success on both sides of the Atlantic.
One of the most intimate and spare tracks, based around just muted guitar strumming and Vernon's grainy falsetto, is The Wolves (Act I and II), and the lyrics are some of the most direct and anguished on the album ("Someday my pain, someday my pain / will mark you"). Act II of the song sees a shift in mood, as the drums come clattering in. Other songs are more obscure and elemental, notably Creature Fear and Lump Sum, with its ancient, choral opening. As well as Flume, highlights for me are Skinny Love, Blindsided and re:stacks (another obscure song title). Skinny Love sounds even better live (see this performance on American TV for a measure of Vernon's intense singing), and that's because the words are genuinely felt; it's about being in the early stage of a new love affair that lacks substance (hence "skinny") because its main purpose is to help someone got over the pain of a previous relationship. Blindsided is one of the most moving tracks, exploring feelings of betrayal, while re:stacks is probably my favourite song on the record, as it feels like Vernon's moment of liberation from all the pain that has been weighing him down ("This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realisation / it's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away / your love will be safe with me"). As with many of the songs, the lyrics are obscure (my guess is that the stacks are poker chips, a metaphor used here to give the sense of a drunk, desperate man throwing it all away), but again what's most important is the strength of the emotion. His second LP (2011's Bon Iver, Bon Iver) is equally stunning, and Vernon continues to evolve as a musician by collaborating with the likes of Kanye West, but nothing he's done matches the intensity of For Emma, Forever Ago.
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