CD: Bon Iver - Bon Iver | reviews, news & interviews
CD: Bon Iver - Bon Iver
CD: Bon Iver - Bon Iver
Log-cabin man is now sonically richer but less engaging
Monday, 13 June 2011
Patchy and disappointing: Bon Iver should have kept to their Vermont log-cabin sound
Well, he’s certainly moved on from his log cabin. It’s three years since Justin Vernon’s group, Bon Iver, released For Emma, Forever Ago, the quietly powerful indie-folk album recorded during a bitter winter in his father’s remote Vermont cabin – an album that became almost as famous for the story behind it as it did for its actual music. Now Bon Iver’s palette has been broadened to incorporate instruments such as synths and a glossier, more layered approach to sound; the result is an album that’s sonically rich but seldom really engaging.
Well, he’s certainly moved on from his log cabin. It’s three years since Justin Vernon’s group, Bon Iver, released For Emma, Forever Ago, the quietly powerful indie-folk album recorded during a bitter winter in his father’s remote Vermont cabin – an album that became almost as famous for the story behind it as it did for its actual music. Now Bon Iver’s palette has been broadened to incorporate instruments such as synths and a glossier, more layered approach to sound; the result is an album that’s sonically rich but seldom really engaging.
Too many of the songs themselves lack strength of purpose and melodic power
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