Bon Iver returns with an album that is objectively dazzling, but not always easy to love. erdanton breaks down the highly anticipated new record from Justin Vernon & co. -
’s effects-treated vocals, song titles rendered in numbers and symbols. Though an expansive ensemble helped Vernon make, the tension between turmoil and vulnerability made it seem like a solitary endeavor by an artist who was trying not to be seen while figuring out how to live a public life.
Bon Iver’s latest has a more collaborative feel. Some of that is a result of studio chatter on the opening track, “Yi,” that sets a tone. It helps, too, that the album features a roster of heavyweight contributors, including Bruce Hornsby,, Jenn Wasner of Wye Oak, members of The National, Francis & the Lights, The Staves and violinist Rob Moose, who has become a go-to indie-world string arranger.
The album they ended up with isn’t exactly upbeat, and Vernon’s lyrics are still cryptic and searching, but there’s an element of joy onthat was rarely apparent on any of its predecessors. That’s not to suggest it’s an easy listen. In fact, finding a way in toIn part, that’s because the emotional arc of the album is less clear: It’s not so much a voyage of self-discovery as a demonstration of prowess in the studio.
are doing here. To an extent, what they’re doing is reveling in the endless technological possibilities of the recording studio. If Bon Iver’s previous albums were about drawing in listeners as Vernon worked through some pretty heavy stuff,finds him swaggering around now that he’s figured a few things out, without always seeming to remember to engage the audience., the bright spots are incandescent.
After that triple-shot, “Jelmore” comes off like a studio exercise to see how far they could push an omnichord and something called “prepared trumpet.” Fortunately, inspiration flashes again on the next song, “Faith.” A distant beat propels the track with a train-like rhythm as it expands outward to include piano, synths, saxophones, strings, the Brooklyn Youth Chorus and a soaring serene ecstasy, in the spiritual sense.still feels clinical at times.