Bon Iver Calgary (4AD)
4/5
By: Stan Morgan
Bon Iver’s last album For Emma, Forever Ago was one of the most beloved albums of recent years, consisting almost exclusively of haunting, affecting acoustic ballads. And in his time off, founder Justin Vernon has got about a bit within the music industry, featuring extensively on Gayngs’ and Kanye West’s albums, as well as recording an excellent collaborative album with Collections of Colonies of Bees under the name Volcano Choir.
‘Calgary’ is the first taste we’ve been given of Bon Iver’s new self titled album, and what is at most apparent at first is that it’s by no means acoustic. Cold synths introduce the track, before Vernon’s trademark multi-tracked vocals break into the kind of melancholic verse familiar from his debut. It seems inspiration has been taken from the New Age Pop of the 80s, covering Peter Gabriel’s ‘Come Talk To Me’ (for Gabriel’s release of his cover of Bon Iver’s ‘Flume’) has clearly had an impact, and Vernon‘s excellent ear for melody has far from deserted him.
Despite the changes in instrumentation and production, the tone and mood of the track echo that of For Emma…, a feature which is why many people loved that album in the first place, allowing the listener an easy transition to his new material. The track is by no means perfect, the distorted guitar section is a little misjudged, but any worries the quality of his output would drop following his debut will certainly be allayed by this offering.
Artists in this article: Bon Iver
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