Bon Iver --- Bon Iver --- 2011 (4AD)
Okay, okay! Enough already! Having been told how good these guys were, I've capitulated and decided to listen to some of their music. Certainly getting great press here on MB, so there must be something in it. However it appears the guys only have two albums, so I've gone for the most recent, last year's self-titled. Justin Vernon seems to be the brains behind the outfit, being not only founder member and producer, but sole composer both of lyrics and music, as well as playing guitar, bass, drums, piano, banjo and about twenty other instruments: hey, what does he need the rest of the band for? Well, original members Matt McCaughan and Sean Carey add their own weird sounds into the mix, including things like bowed vibes, brushes, handclaps, and both seem to be involved in the choir that plays on the album. In addition to these guys, Vernon has brought in sax players, pedal steel and horn players, changing the sound and musical direction, apparently, from the debut album.
“Perth” is the opening track, quite laidback, gentle, nice piano and guitar, with then some rolling, military-style drums fading in almost, then the vocals begin, reminding me of CSNY to be honest, and then the music comes up a bit more strongly, not really upping the tempo, just becoming louder and more prominent. Vernon seems to have quite a high-pitched voice, which at first I must say I find just a little off-putting (there's no pleasing me, is there?), and the song then gets heavier and harder, electric guitar crashing in to meet the sudden influx of drums, with horns and strings riding along behind them. Quite interesting: I would not have expected the song to change style so sharply.
It segues, via a lone guitar line, directly into “Minneosta, WI”, and I only now notice that almost all of the tracks are named after cities or states. Guitar drops away and a nice violin/viola backing to Vernon's voice, lower this time, not so high-pitched, with some good sax there and banjo making its presence felt too. Heavy drums roll in, accompanied by a sharp electric guitar, but the song somehow doesn't really get that much heavier, which is quite a feat. Nice horn arrangement, but the instrument that takes up my attention most is that banjo, giving the song quite a country/folk feel. A bit jarringly, the song seems to just stop suddenly, and we're into “Holocene” --- which, as far as I know, is not a city or a state --- and a nice gentle guitar melody accompanying the vocal, which is back high again, with some nice backing vocals. Little piano there getting in on the melody too, filling it out a little more, then those rolling drums are coming back in: seems to be a feature of the album so far.
This kind of puts me in mind of very early Eagles, like their first album, or maybe “Desperado”, and next track up, “Towers”, continues that similarity, while adding in touches of Neil Young and his compatriots in Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Slightly more uptempo but still laidback, it's the high-pitched vocal again in the ascendancy, the track carried mostly on guitar, with our good friend Greg Leisz, whom we last heard from on Mark Knopfler's "Sailing to Philadelphia" album, putting in a star turn on the pedal steel, then the whole thing kicks up a gear and turns into a mid-paced country song, violins and strings arrangement keeping it from being just another country tune though. The cleverly-titled “Michicant” has very definite tones of Simon and Garfunkel at their height, another sparse, gentle little song, almost acoustic, the drums this time more bouncing in than rolling for once, and quite effectively too, like someone dropping tennis balls onto a floor. Echoey, you know? Nice organ passage near the end, then some electric guitar sidles in, almost unnoticed, the organ allying up with it, but the song is definitely carried on the close-harmony vocals which always grab your attention. I guess that would be the choir that's been mentioned.
“Hinnom, TX” opens with sort of reverb piano, Justin Vernon's vocal this time lower in the register, the way I think I prefer it. Some very effective violin and viola, then acoustic, quite hard piano opens “Wash.” and Vernon goes back to his mostly higher vocal, sounding just a little at times like a 70s Peter Gabriel, just a bit. The piano is joined by violin, but the track is still very stripped-down and basic, which in fact works very well. The piano work on this puts me in mind of the very early work of Tom Waits, particularly on his debut album, “Closing time”. This is one of the longer tracks on this album, almost five minutes long, in fact just missing out on being the longest by about forty seconds (that was “Holocene”).
A more solid, synthesiser driven song then, “Calgary” starts off as a nice ballad --- though few songs on this album could be said to be uptempo anyway --- with again some nice vocal harmonies and a real feeling of yearning and longing for home. It picks up a little then, with drums and guitar pulling the song along, the percussion in particular leading the way. “Lisbon, OH” is then conversely the shortest track, just over a minute and a half of mostly synth and organ, with some odd little effects thrown in here and there, and we close on “Beth/Rest”, which has a nice digital piano opening, and a nice vocal line that reminds me of Bruce Hornsby (yeah, I know, but this album reminds me of so many artistes it's weird), with a lot of horns going on in the mix, and oh yeah, I personally hear Christopher Cross in there too.
I must admit, I'm not as blown away with this album as I expected to be, given all the hype, recommendation and indeed critical acclaim. It's in no way a bad album, and I'm glad I listened to it, but I really can't say that I see it as anything all that special. As I've mentioned above, I hear a lot of derivative stuff in it, which is no real criticism, just an observation. I did expect to be left with a feeling of why hadn't I listened to this before, but what I'm left with is a musical shrug of the shoulders. Obviously I'm in the minority, given the general acclaim this album has received, but though it was okay I have to say, in the end, nah, I don't get it.
TRACKLISTING
1. Perth
2. Minnosota, WI.
3. Holocene
4. Towers
5. Michicant
6. Hinnom, TX.
7. Wash.
8. Calgary
9. Lisbon, OH.
10. Beth/Rest