In 2008, I never would've guessed that Bon Iver, the gentle folk project from Justin Vernon, would morph into an arena-level festival headliner, electronic-inspired rock outfit capable of making track titles that resembled Witchhaus song names with Aphex Twin-style influences. I also never would've guessed that after the polarizing 22, a million, he'd ever revert back to the intimate sounds of For Emma, Forever Ago. Well, a lot has changed in the near fifteen years since Bon Iver had a commercial breakthrough, taking home Best New Artist at the Grammy's, and even after long periods between albums where his sound has continued to evolve, it somehow feels even more radical that his sound would return to lone acoustic guitar strums and his ever-angelic croon. "S P E Y S I D E" still has some annoying typography (do we really need spaces between each letter, Justin?), but everything else about it is a welcomed return to a sonic template many never thought we'd hear again. As the lead single to an upcoming EP, the new music is has been refered to as "a reset and reintroduction" to the band and a press release states that it's an exercise in "stripping the project down to the primary elements on which it was originally founded. Before being Bon Iver meant playing a part." From the opening strums and finger-picking, it's hard to not well-up with a sense of joy at hearing this style again from someone who has become such an instrumental voice and figure in the scene over time and reasserts himself as a generational talent. "Nothing has really happened like I thought it would" he sings and it's unclear if he's referring specifically to his musical sound, career, or just life in general, but no matter the path it has taken him to get him here, the result feels as exciting as ever. He may not be able to rely or rest on his dynasty, but he can be sure that his work remains relevant and worthy of all the praise.
SABLE, is out October 18.
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