Justin Vernon has learned a thing or two since hanging out with Kanye West and other hip hop superstars. This is 2011, and one cannot just fingerpick woefully alone in the forest anymore. Bon Iver is groovy record. Not to say you couldn't see this coming.
"Holocene," "Michicant," "Calgary," hell, nearly the entire record sounds like For Emma, but with a bigger budget and silkier production. "Towers" uses a swelling undercurrent of horns to represent the bubbling and complicated love of the song's protagonist. "Minnesota, WI" has Vernon getting his sexy Chris Martin swagger on with banjos and slide guitar aplenty. "Holocene," flows with a sensitive lilt before bouncing to life with a stomp and handclaps. Perfect motivation to make it to the top of the mountain.
I have a feeling some folks won't like this follow-up much. It's difficult to pin down, the hooks never simple. Epic 80s closer, "Beth/Rest," features those yamaha electric keyboards stolen straight from a Peter Cetera record or Jackson Browne's Running On Empty. Vernon particularly enjoyed wanking on the cheesy guitar solo that begs us to dig out our lighters and raise 'em high. It's most definitely a power ballad, but feels oddly appropriate at the end of a deeply exploratory journey.
Like Helplessness Blues, Bon Iver is not a picturesque folk record with bohemian nostalgia or dusty longings for the "good old days." Despite the cleansing feeling I get when listening to it, I'm still not sure what to make of it. Vernon and company threw down another gauntlet for us musicians, bloggers and listeners. Are we prepared to step up to the challenge?
Listen:
Bon Iver-"Calgary"
Look:
Bon Iver's official site
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