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Justin Vernon went into the woods because he wanted to live deliberately. He walked away from civilization and took up residence in a cabin in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin. As winter deepened he lived his days splitting firewood, watching frozen sunrises, and slowly crafting what will surely be one of the most touching albums of the year.
His first album recorded under the moniker Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago is an album that distills years of heartache, yearning, and guilt into nine tracks of expansive, tender, humble music. A base of acoustic guitar and Vernon's (often falsetto) voice is accented only occasionally with bits of percussion or bass guitar. Though simple in arrangement, the songs are nonetheless deeply textured creating a sound much larger than the sum of its parts.
First track "Flume" sets a soothing stage for the record with a simple, steady guitar riff, bare and unaided by anything save Vernon's unassuming vocal. As the album moves on, however, it becomes obvious that there is more to Bon Iver (an intentional misspelling of the French phrase meaning "Good Winter") than initially meets the ear. "Lump Sum" opens with an orchestral sort of ambiance and the laid back falsetto is joined by up-tempo strumming and a slight but ever-present percussive beat.
Just two tracks into the record, Bon Iver manages to create a solitary, contemplative atmosphere so complete that the listener is almost transported to his father's cabin, isolated from civilization but not quite alone. The music accompanies us and helps us navigate through the occasional doldrums of winter and the human condition.
"Skinny Love" is a waxing and waning piece that sees Vernon slipping in and out of falsetto on top of a guitar that in turn flourishes and fades. This rhythmic ebb and flow is contrasted with a rough strum and a plaintive cry as Vernon sings:
I told you to be patient
I told you to be fine
I told you to be balanced
I told you to be kind
Now all your love is wasted?
Then who the hell was I?
The resulting mix creates one of the best songs on the record.
"The Wolves (Act I and II)" and "Creature Fever" are a subdued explorations of regret with the former featuring a sparsely populated first minute that slowly builds and culminates in a small cacophony of
What might have been lost
In contrast, "Blindsided" and the instrumental "Team" display more prominent rhythm sections providing a solid base for Bon Iver's generally more esoteric sounds. Following these is the title track – and the only song with music recorded outside of the frozen Wisconsin wilderness – "For Emma." A horn section added during production adds a sharpness to Vernon's nominally soothing tones and the song takes on a sort of grandiose poignancy. It's a dialogue between lovers and though it contains few lines, Vernon manages to speak volumes.
The album's final track "re: Stacks" ends the record as it begins: with a slight and unassuming guitar behind a light, bare falsetto. It's stripped down, it's personal, it's a culmination of three months of confronting past demons and surviving. Lyrically the most concrete song of this collection, Vernon lays the concept of the record out plainly:
This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization
It's the sound of the unlocking and the lift away
He sets aside most of his abstractions, sets aside his musical layering and delivers a straightforward look at the heart of the record and by extension, himself.
At times thoughtful, at times self-deprecating, For Emma, Forever Ago is clean, down-to-earth, and an introspective listener's paradise. Many of his lyrics read like puzzle pieces, each offering some snapshot of truth and together creating a picture that is completely unique and beautiful. His alternatively stark and ornate offerings are at once inviting and compelling and with these nine songs he has crafted one of the most striking and stunning records of 2007.
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© Eric Atienza 2007 for ListenIn. Some rights reserved.
