A Second Chance

Today’s record I have listened to once before…at least 15 months ago, if not more. I didn’t like it then, but I am determined to listen to it again to see if I have changed. At the time I first heard it, I thought the singer was whining too much. But it’s quite possible that when I was listening to the record at the time, I was in a different mood. I really think I was. So here we are again, giving it a second chance.

# 71 – Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago (Metascore = 88)

Sonically, this is an acoustic affair, quiet and morose. While there are some electric instruments and additional voices here and there, for the most part this is a quiet record. The album was recorded primarily by Justin Vernon, the brains behind Bon Iver. Vernon recorded all the songs on For Emma while living in a remote cabin in Wisconsin. Vernon had recently left Raleigh, NC after his previous band, DeYarmond Edison, had broken up, and he had broken up with a girlfriend. He channeled all of his emotions into this album, which evokes the sounds of Nick Drake and Tim Harding. He sounds like the lead singer for TV on the Radio or of Shearwater.

“Flume” starts with the line “I am my mother’s only one” and seems like a remembrance of his mother and being within his mother’s care. Musically, after you get past the beginning half-minute, “Lump Sum” is an interesting song, but the lyrics don’t make any sense to me. “Skinny Love” lyrically is an easy song to understand with a deeper meaning within. The lyrics focus on what seems to be a passing love and the dark emotions behind this break up. This song probably most personifies the pain and loneliness Vernon was dealing with after his break-up. “The Wolves (Act I and II)” was not as interesting to me. There is a nice build-up to the finale the last 2 minutes of the song, but I just wasn’t that connected to it.

“Blindsided” is a depressing song but also one of the best songs lyrically and musically. If you mixed the music of “Flume” with the lyrics from “Skinny Love”, this song would probably plop out. “Creature Fear” is also lyrically fascinating, deviating from the love and loss theme to something more political (in a way).

“For Emma” is probably my favorite song on this album. Musically it’s upbeat even if lyrically it’s not. I tapped my foot to this, which is something I hadn’t done before on this album. This also had more of a “band” feel to it than the others, with electric guitars, bass, drums, and a trumpet to accompany the acoustic guitar.

The album closes with “Re: Stacks”, which is in the same vein musically as the other tracks on this album with the exception of “For Emma” (which seems to be an outlier in some ways). The lyrics seem to be a reflection on love.

Overall, my opinion has changed about this album. Sure, sometimes Justin Vernon’s vocals can be whining, but musically I enjoyed the album and lyrically I got it more once I read the lyrics and put them in context of the songs. Not my favorite that I have listened to, but a good record nonetheless.