Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago [ALBUM]

Jagjaguwar/4AD Records

A cliché scenario – upset young man lugs his gear to the hills and spends 3 whole months in isolation, tortured by upsetting events of the last year and eager to start again. “For Emma, Forever Ago” charts his progress from despair right back to balance and it’s evident that this is a deeply personal record that perhaps wasn’t ever intended to be released. Maybe it was merely meant to be an outlet for reasonably accomplished singer/songwriter Justin Vernon. You will identify with these songs if you’ve ever been low and wondered how to best vent frustrations – it’s clear that during the time Vernon spent holed up in a cabin in Wisconsin he made a good go of spitting out his demons and throwing them down on tape to create something that would encourage him to finally move on. This doesn’t necessarily make the album a gloomy listen. It’s a feast of ideas that were initially spontaneous, but that have been pulled together to create an innovative and moving example of music in its best form – purely unprepared yet totally understandable.

It’s easy to be sceptical when you’re told that an album has been hailed as the best thing since sliced bread, and it’s easy to want to see past the praise and focus on flaws to explore your own duty to be as honest as possible. Approaching this album I was intimidated by its lo-fi feel, as I am ashamedly a sucker for well-produced records, but I found it’s only a matter of seconds before you’re engrossed in a haunting soundscape of vocal harmonies, mellow guitar and curious background shuffles. Bon Iver successfully stops you in your tracks and lowers your mind to reflection. “Skinny Love”, one of just two tracks to be officially released as singles once Vernon had signed to Jagjaguwar, is more accessible than some, as although lyrically all the songs present you with cryptic bluntness and fantastic imagery, this particular track is easier to take at face value. The vocal falsetto ‘soars’ sound slightly Beegees from time to time (!) but prove that Vernon has an incredible vocal range, best explored on track “Blindsided”. Digging deeper into the bubble of overdubbing, a particular favourite lyric of mine stems from “The Wolves Act I & II” - Vernon tells us that “what might have been lost don’t bother me”. What might have been lost now matters to me, as “For Emma...” is a journey fraught with sadness that reaches a satisfying destination.

Don’t try it out if you need simple, blaring licks and commercially-burnt lyrics to brighten your day. Listen to this album only when human empathy is likely to cheer you up.