Bon Iver [+Digital Booklet]

Bon Iver | Format: MP3 Music

Product Details

• Original Release Date: June 21, 2011
• Release Date: June 21, 2011
• Label: Jagjaguwar
• Copyright: 2011 Jagjaguwar
• Record Company Required Metadata: Music file metadata contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
• Total Length: 39:25
• Genres:
  • Alternative Rock
• ASIN: B0054JURZA
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (168 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

109 of 122 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Bon Iver - Bon Iver, Bon Iver June 27, 2011

By Andrew Vice

Format:Audio CD

Well damn, this is a changeup. Vernon has taken a huge (and very ballsy) step in releasing this record under the same name as 2008's brilliant For Emma, Forever Ago, which is more or less the polar opposite of this year's self-titled record. Where For Emma was a hushed set of crystalline dirges, Bon Iver is absolutely exploding with sounds and instrumentation and ideas. For Emma was the sound of a man and his guitar, pouring out his heart and purging the demons that haunt him, but Bon Iver is the logical follow-up: the purge was successful and now Vernon has a fresh heart and soul to express more than just the idea of pain and hurt. I get why For Emma fans are not necessarily huge fans of this record, but just as Burst Apart was the logical step forward from Hospice, so too is Bon Iver the progression from the cocoon of For Emma. You absolutely have to come into this record with an open mind and not expect for it to sound like For Emma, but if you can do that, you'll find Vernon's aggressive use of instrumentation and melody to be compelling and, ultimately, stellar. On Bon Iver, Vernon has shown us that he can do far more than make us cry, and he does it all so well it's almost hard to believe.

55 of 65 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous, melodic, mature music June 30, 2011

By M. Morris

Format:MP3 Music|Amazon Verified Purchase

Some of these reviews are hilariously awesome. I love the funny stuff people say when they hate something so much! I dig the album. Gorgeous and textured. Mature and melodic. It kind of just rolls out of the speakers without you really knowing when one track ends and the next begins. The lyrics are nearly indecipherable. The song names are gibberish. Call it overproduced or whatever, but what does that really mean. It's beautiful music. His previous stuff was great too. Who cares if this is different. Don't get so attached to what you think an artist should sound like - you'll only end up disappointed. I do think the last track is a bit of a trip. Jimmy Fallon busted his chops for it - comparing it to Bruce Hornsby. I can't disagree with that simple but fairly accurate comparison. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

36 of 44 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Confused by fellow reviewers July 6, 2011

By inlovewithtroy

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Just listened all the way through and I freakin love it!
Not sure why so many do not but I enjoyed the listening experience immensely!
I own all of his previous work and enjoyed this new offering by vernon simply because it was a bit different. And though different it still sounded very much like his own.
I say buy it and love it unless you just enjoyed the emma album b/c of it's distinct rustic sound. If you love Justin Vernon I don't see how you could be disappointed with this album.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars And at once I knew I was not magnificent June 7, 2012

By J.L. TOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

These songs are excellent in their own ways, but in particular I would like to call your attention to "Holocene," which is, simply put, heartbreaking. I don't have a clue what the lyrics are saying, nor do I even think Bon Iver has figured it out, but the the falling chords and the tide-like ebb tell me everything I need to know.

The fascinating thing about Bon Iver is that he doesn't "write" songs as much as let songs write themselves. He starts by humming sounds that feel right and only later does he try to fit words to those sounds. ("And at once I knew I was not magnificent / strayed above the highway aisle / jagged vacance, thick with ice[?]") The result is often mildly psychedelic and even that awful word "experimental," but it doesn't collapse under abstraction and randomness like most experimental music because it's grounded in the great progenitor of great music: feeling. It even magnifies or more directly channels feeling because it skips that whole part about trying to make sense.

Rather than putting music on paper through brute force, Bon Iver puts himself at the service of music. Rather than listening to Bon Iver, we're listening to sadness and longing themselves. To understand why this matters, you've got to close your eyes and press play.

18 of 24 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars This is Only My Opinion August 27, 2011

By B. Alexander

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I listened to this album for the first time a few days ago, and I could barely make it through to the end. The musicianship, intimacy and genuine emotions of "For Emma, Forever Ago", have been replaced with bland, constrained, indifferent, affected elevator music. A few moments here and there started to spark my interest for a moment, then the songs would just kind of fade away. As I grow older, music with no backbone or heart has become much easier to detect. It will be hard for me to find time to listen to this album again, as it feels like a waste of time. Again, this is only my opinion.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible Album by an Incredible Artist August 12, 2011

By bsteinwr

Format:Vinyl|Amazon Verified Purchase

To every review dripping with arrogant, ignorant, blasphemous hipster snark, please save it. This album is a veritable masterpiece. Justin takes musical textures from the days before digital instruments (much like For Emma) and combines them with textures found more in 80s and modern music, like a REAL synthesizer (It's an instrument. One that you play. It's a Moog, not a computer) and a handful of auto-tuned vocals. He has proven with "Woods" that effects can be used artfully. This is a step forward that he obviously knew all the "retro revivalist," Urban Outfitters hipsters would hate, and I like that. Regarding the songs, they're just gorgeous. Perth is one of my favorites, with beautifully warm electric guitars and striking melodies. The next few tracks continue to cascade over the listener a lush wall of sound that transports you to other musical worlds. That's the point of listening to music, isn't it? Anyway, Holocene is just perfect. The piezo guitar is the first acoustic-electric guitar since the Smiths that I actually thought worked. All of the studio musicians played their instruments, not computers, and the layers of sound make it a really memorable record. In my opinion, For Emma will always be the classic, but to compare the two would be unfair. They are both works of art, with different sonic stories to tell. Stop being arrogant, and ignore the hipsters who refuse to listen, and get yourself a nice vinyl copy (it sounds great). You won't regret a cent.