Bon Iver

The story behind Bon Iver's debut release, For Emma, Forever Ago, reads like the plot teaser on the back of a novel. After breaking up with his band and girlfriend, Justin Vernon, formerly of DeYarmond Edison, withdraws from society to a remote cabin in Wisconsin, returning three months later with a collection of nine ethereal, folk-based tracks that would become 2007's most overlooked independent release.

Whether by design or simply a matter of the recording's provenance, every facet of For Emma exudes a feeling of isolation. Throughout the record, Vernon's lamenting falsetto—which carves out an inimitable timbre between blues and neo-soul—seems to echo from a desolate room in the form of stunningly emotive melodies, accompanied by only his acoustic guitar and sparse drums. This aesthetic creates a tension between forlorn despair and inspired beauty that engulfs the listener from the album's opening line, "I am my mother's only son / it's enough," which, as it is being sung, disappears into the quicksand of reverb-drenched slide-guitar and haunting tape hiss.

Despite this overwhelming melancholy, Vernon's storytelling adds a beauty and engaging presence to each track. On the minimalist folk song, "Skinny Love," Vernon's voice slides into a painful yet subdued growl to deliver a raw, but undeniably catchy, chorus. On "The Wolves (Act I and II)" a choir of Vernon's overdubbed vocals slowly splinter through the silence left by the song's sparse guitar strums until each voice refracts the same lyrics through a different emotion.

Though the lush horn section and upbeat rhythm guitar of the album's title track, "For Emma," offers a brief moment of pop-catharsis, Vernon plunges back into despondent winter with only his guitar for the closing song, "re: stacks." This singer-songwriter meditation on the paralysis and seclusion that inhabits the album is the perfect epilogue to Vernon's story as it summarizes his arresting isolation and offers hope for reconnection in the closing line "Your love will be safe me." It's a powerful turn to end Bon Iver's heartbreakingly beautiful album, and it should not be missed when it receives official release via Jagjaguwar this February.

—Jay watford
02.26.08

Bon Iver is the work of Justin Vernon. He isolated himself in a remote cabin in Wisconsin for almost four months, writing and recording the songs on For Emma, Forever Ago, his haunting debut album. A few parts (horns, drums, and backing vocals) were added in a North Carolina studio, but for the majority of the time it's just Vernon, his utterly disarming voice, and his enchanting songs. The voice is the first thing you notice. Vernon's falsetto soars like a hawk and when he adds harmonies and massed backing vocals, it can truly be breathtaking. "The Wolves (Acts I & II)" truly shows what Vernon can do as he croons, swoops, and cajoles his way through an erratic and enchanting melody like Marvin Gaye after a couple trips to the backyard still. "Skinny Love" shows more of his range as he climbs down from the heights of falsetto and shouts out the angry and heartachey words quite convincingly. Framing his voice are suitably subdued arrangements built around acoustic guitars and filled out with subtle electric guitars, the occasional light drums, and slide guitar. Vernon has a steady grasp of dynamics too; the ebb and flow of "Creature Fear" is powerfully dramatic and when the chorus hits it's hard not to be swept away by the flood of tattered emotion. Almost every song has a moment where the emotion peaks and hearts begin to weaken and bend: the beauty of that voice is what pulls you through every time. For Emma captures the sound of broken and quiet isolation, wraps it in a beautiful package, and delivers it to your door with a beating, bruised heart. It's quite an achievement for a debut and the promise of greatness in the future is high. Oh, and because you have to mention it, Iron & Wine. Also, Little Wings. Most of all, though, Bon Iver. ~ Tim Sendra, Rovi