Bon Iver For Emma, Forever Ago
Jagjaguwar
Apparently, the old cliché about spending a lonesome winter writing songs in a remote cabin really does pay off. At least, that’s what Justin Vernon’s (aka Bon Iver) career arc seems to indicate.
Before exiling himself in the Northwest frontiers of Wisconsin for three months, Vernon had been known only as the frontman for the talented but somewhat vanilla Americana band, DeYarmond Edison. When he returned to civilization and landed on Jagjaguwar, however, his voice had been recast as the embodiment of soul-searching isolation-- unseating Sam Beam in some indie circles.
In truth, For Emma, Forever Ago does bear a strong resemblance to the gentle, folk ambience of early Iron & Wine, particularly on tracks like “Flume” and “Blindsided.” A key difference— and a critical one at that— is the transformation of Vernon’s singing style since his days as the somewhat generic, whiskey-soaked crooner for DeYarmond Edison. As Bon Iver, he has introduced a ghostly, self-harmonized falsetto that recalls the tight soulfulness of TV on the Radio and the fragility of Antony & the Johnsons. It’s a whole lot spookier and more stirring than Sam Beam’s sleepy whispering, and when Vernon really pours on the choral effects (“Lump Sum,” “Creature Fear”), it can sound downright spiritual.
Even if the whole remote cabin bit sounds too much like a clever publicity tool, the album requires no such back-story to earn its keep.
(Andrew Clayman)
Published in The Metro Pulse, February 2008
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