And now for something completely different..
Bon Iver (Justin Vernon) has a faultless ability to evolve with each passing album as he reaches new heights of interesting. No one however, could have expected such a dramatic (and experimental) alteration to come with Bon Iver’s third album titled 22, A Million.
Admittedly questions were likely raised numerous times after the five year wait for Vernon’s newest LP addition, whether he had achieved the level of new music he had been so eager to implement into his sound. Even though remnants of his self titled second full length had left open possibilities for his fans to ponder on, the huge clusters of new age R&B and blended digital euphoria present on 22, A Million simply exemplify the succession of this ever-changing hurricane.
There does however, seem to be a method to Bon Iver’s melodic madness when examining his back catalogue.
With recurrent production effects never leaving the new release, the early warning notifications from previous tracks “Calgary” and “Hinnom, TX” show he had in fact been following a loose but progressive pathway and after years of hints, it appears Mr. Vernon has finally joined the ranks of musicians finding the capacity to revolutionize their musical motives.
Like a heart monitor, the musical readout for 22, A Million is delivered through an unmistakably mechanical and digital manner but has an undeniably raw and emotional heart behind it, as it always seems to have honed. The instrumental separation between songs has left chasms amid track numbers (and any hope of confidently categorising). One peak appears silky smooth with deliberate auto tune abuse in “715 – CREEKS,” but barrows swiftly down into jagged fractures and continual rhythm cracking bursts from “10dEAThbREasT”.
22, A Million is certainly not an album for everyone.
Only delivering disjointed lyrical segments that feel like they tell maybe half of the chosen concept content, but Vernon is certainly an artist for those who prefer uncontrollable ocean currents in comparison to the unshakable formation of stone.