New Lovers, Old Flames, Part 2 is Bon Iver
posted March 31, 2009, 10:51 pm | Log In To Post Comments | 
view comments (1)
Tags: bon iver, for emma, forever ago, indie, folk
There's something about a man's falsetto that just pulls me closer to it. Perhaps it is the vulnerability in it, the shaky, winding sound of a little boy crying out of a man. Maybe its because it resembles a woman's voice, something familiar. I confess, it appeals to me mostly because I don't know.
Justin Vernon, like many talented artists, is full of contradictions. His voice is somewhat unrepressed but somewhat cautious, his lyrics a little sad but so profoundly wise. He hones his mystical, swirly musical styles into something heartbreakingly real and relatable. Was it the woods that brought out his ghostly harmonies of loss and love? Remote Wisconsin is something I've never seen until I heard For Emma, Forever Ago. I imagine it to be tranquil and woodsy, where sunlight gently spatters upon the forest floor, a bed of dry leafs. Somewhere in there Vernon was chopping wood like it was his own heart.
"Sky is womb and she's the moon." How can someone capture heartbreak so delicately?
Comments:
I know how you feel. For Emma is an album that does magic to people. I was dumbstruck the first listen and still, going back after reading your post, am still amazed at the talent, both with song delivery as well as song writing. Let's pray Bon Iver can follow this album up with something equally, if not more, impressive.
If you've never heard the album, here is just a taste of what you can expect:
Additional Tags: Bon Iver
posted on April 1, 2009, 1:08 am
