Lump sum (Bon Iver) (LP 654 - 655)

Bon Iver  For Emma, Forever Ago (CD, 4AD/Jagjaguwar, 2008) ***** 

Bon Iver  Bon Iver (CD, 4AD/Jagjaguwar, 2011) *** 

Genre: Alt-pop

Places I remember: Music shop in Centre City, New Plymouth - goneburger now; Virgin Megastore - Dubai for Bon Iver.

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Flume

Gear costume: Skinny Love 

Active compensatory factors: For Emma, Forever Ago was a real revelation back in 2008. 

I loved the romantic Walden style back story (heading to a remote cabin and recording an album) and when the music matched the idyllic circumstances, it all felt and sounded magical.

The album appeals to a wide range of people too - my youngest daughter's generation loved it as much as mine did. Even Jacky likes it!

Follow-up difficult second album was as successful commercially as For Emma, but it's taken me a while to warm to it. There are echoes of the For Emma style but it's, quite rightly, it's own album.

Where do they all belong? Justin Vernon has got a little too wacky for me on subsequent releases so I'll stick with these two.

I'm the Carnival of Peace (Bon Iver) #452

Bon Iver Blood Bank/ Beach Baby/ Babys/ Woods (Jagjaguwar, Jag 134, 2009)

The Blood Bank EP was Justin Vernon's follow up to the amazingly brilliant debut For Emma, Forever Ago.

Pretty cunning that. The expectation after Emma was immense so, go with an EP.

Blood Bank itself is a haunting song but it was left off the album and that was a good decision. It's slightly at odds with the vibe of For Emma. It just lacks the gravitas of that album at its best.

Hidden gems: Beach Baby is amazingly good - would have fitted the vibe of For Emma without any problem. Has that same wonky guitar sound and vocals that linger in the air and drift off in sadness. 

The other two are more sound experiments and an acquired taste. They do show him thirsting after new soundscapes which is great but one listen of this kind of thing lasts me a long time.