Prior to this record, I wasn’t really familiar with Bon Iver. Truth be told, I was kind of turned off by the name. I somewhat associated it with Bon Jovi, though I knew that the music had nothing to do with JBJ. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I have far worse reasons to not pay attention to bands than that (I inexplicably cannot STAND the name Badly Drawn Boy…it makes my blood boil, but I love the music he did for About A Boy…no rhyme, no reason). Anyway.
Bon Iver’s Bon Iver is a beauty that should be listened to in its entirety from start to finish. When people (read: Bob Lefsetz) talk about the album dying, I have to think that he isn’t paying attention to records like this. Jumping in for one song or in the middle of the record would be like being plopped down in the middle of the enchanted forest with no directions. You don’t want to miss out on any of it. As a whole, the record is soft, sweet, melodic, hypnotic and mesmerizing. It builds from a mellow sleepy beginning into this emotive and ironic crescendo of passion and folksiness, taking you on an emotional journey of fuzzy and rich orchestration.
I love this record and have been listening to it on repeat all day. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a melancholic or introspective day. It’s hard to pick a favorite song as I feel that the whole record works so well together that it needs to stay as such, but I loved “Minnesota, WI,” “Holocene” and “Towers.” And, I’m obsessed with “Calgary.” The song names appear to be an homage to different places. When I close my eyes, I can almost smell the cedar inside the wood cabin, tucked in the most beautiful of each of these locations.
Right now, you can stream the record at NPR and pre-order at Amazon before it’s released on Tuesday, June 21st. I highly recommend!
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