Bon Iver

EPs often capture an awkward stage in a musician's development. While albums embody a solid sonic image, EPs tend to come off like a sketch—a place to test the boundaries of a musical palette and decide what should be fleshed out and what should be discarded. Unfortunately, when a beloved artist brings one of these brainstorming activities to the public, it's rarely approached with the checked enthusiasm its transitional nature demands. Set to become a prime example after the uncanny adoration for his debut, Bon Iver's new EP, Blood Bank, will undoubtedly fall victim to these types of lofty expectations, as it documents Bon Iver's incomplete metamorphoses from a sole singer-songwriter to a full band. While the outing contains a few highlights and promising new sounds, its lack of development will leave many fans hoping for a true follow-up to For Emma, Forever Ago unfulfilled.

The opener, "Blood Bank," is the most realized track and likely the best indication of where Bon Iver is heading. The song finds a thumping kick drum beating below softly strummed guitars, while singer/songwriter Justin Vernon croons in his natural register, only climbing to his trademark falsetto for an ethereal pre-chorus. The affects of being backed by a full band are immediately noticeable, as the track sheds the isolated, forlorn atmosphere that marked Vernon's debut and instead dawns a fuller and more traditional aesthetic. Fortunately, the band keeps their accompaniment compositionally simplistic, giving the songwriting room to breathe and proving they have the potential to capture the natural beauty that inhabited For Emma, while adding a new depth of timbre.

Unfortunately, the three tracks that follow feel more like experiments and/or unfinished ideas. Composed of no more than two verses, a slide guitar solo and a short melody that's hardly a chorus, "Beach Baby" feels like an incomplete leftover from past sessions. Even more disappointing than this rehash is the unrealized potential that follows. "Babys'" skeleton of subtly evolving keyboard offers an interesting new texture for Vernon's voice, but is barely explored by the song's verse-chorus-verse-outro structure. In a surprisingly yet superficially successful twist, Vernon's vocals are put through a vocoder on the closer, "Woods." While it's amazing how expressive the often-gimmicky trick is in this talented singer's hands, the song consists of no more than one phrase that's repeated with added harmonies and culminates in Vernon performing some impressively diva vocal runs. While the track proves sonically enthralling the first couple go-arounds, it's repetitive nature eventually wears down its charm and leaves you wishing Vernon had spent a little more time writing a song to do the aural experience justice.

While the failings of the EP shouldn't shake the general optimism around what Bon Iver can bring to the musical world, these four tracks have to be judged on their own merits and not the possibilities they allude to. While there are a handful of solid ideas on the album, "Blood Bank" is the only solid song and the only track likely to earn a permanent spot in Bon Iver's traversed catalogue. But it's just an EP, what did you expect?

—Jay Watford
01.21.09

Bon Iver's debut album made a huge splash in 2008, receiving both critical acclaim and near-mainstream popularity as the record fanned out over indie rockers, alt-folk fans, and lovers of quietly emotional and frequently inspiring songs sung by a dude with the voice of an angel. All the adulation was well deserved, because For Emma, Forever Ago is the kind of record that manages to capture a musician's soul and transmit it in a way that truly connects with a large array of listeners. It's an impressive achievement and one that holds up over many listens. Released in 2009, the Blood Bank EP is both a pause for breath for Justin Vernon and a reminder why so many people fell so deeply in love with the record and the sound he created. Recorded over a couple years and in various locations, the EP sounds like outtakes from Emma, but not in a bad way. "Blood Bank," with its subtly propulsive drums and idiosyncratic lyrics, would have been one of the album's best moments. The same goes for the more experimental but still beautiful "Babys," which features both some gently jarring piano and Vernon's soothing, multi-tracked falsetto. The only stretch Vernon makes here is on the closing "Woods" -- in a somewhat bold move, he embraces Auto-Tune and warps his vocals into almost unrecognizable shapes. Starting off as a lone voice, he begins to harmonize with himself and then adds layers of warbling vocals until the song builds to a frenzied, backwoods R&B symphony of weirdness. It's a move that could send lots of people into fits of disbelief but strangely enough, it works -- especially over headphones, where the vocals can envelope you completely. It's probably a direction Vernon won't follow, but it's an interesting experiment that keeps the record from sounding like outtakes (worthy outtakes, but outtakes all the same) from For Emma, Forever Ago. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide