Bon Ivor - For Emma, Forever Ago

  by Andrew Carver

published: 24 / 5 / 2008

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Review

Justin Vernon was the least hirsute member of Wisconsin via Raleigh, N.C., quartet DeYarmond Edison. The other three members went on to form MegaFaun (most recently seen touring as part of Akron/Family), while Justin Vernon returned to the Wisconsin woods to record solo in a hunting cabin. The basic recipe is simple: Vernon and his acoustic guitar. Despite that, the album sounds fairly full – unlike similar acts of cabin-folk (Asa Irons and Swann Miller’s self-titled album springs to mind). Vernon isn’t shy about overlaying his vocals with some judicious multi-tracking, adding in an extra instrument or, in ‘The Wolves (Act I and II)’ to lay on a clattering bridge before the whimpering conclusion. As a result, ‘For Emma’ is too muscular to be described as spectral, even when the melancholy minor key tunes so ably suggest the loneliness of the Wisconsin cabin where they were recorded. A frequently beautiful work, much of ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ is contained in Vernon’s ethereal falsetto. At times he sounds like Tunde Adebimpe, and Bon Hiver could be a rustic TV on The Radio. When Vernon masses his vocals into a choir, the effect is close to heavenly. At more delicate points he hits the same nerves as Nick Drake’s starkest work. ‘For Emma’ has already garnered wide acclaim, and fans of outfits like Shearwater and Iron and Wine should find it right up their alley.

Track Listing:-

1 Flume
2 Lump Sum
3 Skinny Love
4 The Wolves (Act I and II)
5 Blindsided
6 Creature Fear
7 Team
8 For Emma
9 re:stacks

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