I’ll open up with my bias first: Bon Iver is my favorite artist, “For Emma, Forever Ago” (2007) is my favorite album of all time, while “Bon Iver, Bon Iver” (2011) is my eighth of all time. Friday, September 30, 2016 they released a new album called “22, A Million” (2016). It’s very different from the first album, which was closer to folk music and written with Justin Vernon having escaped to the woods of Wisconsin after a breakup with a longtime girlfriend. The result was what many acclaim to be one of the best breakup albums of all time, the hit song being “Skinny Love." My favorite from that album is “Re: Stacks." Their second album was released four years later with a new sound including a lot of auto-tune; much to the chagrin of many fans, while others found it refreshing for the band. The “hit” from the album is “Holocene," which happens to be my favorite from the album. It’s been five years since Bon Iver released an album, a drought broken on Friday. They haven’t been silent in those five years, appearing on songs with the likes of James Blake (whose sound and influence is noticeable on the new album), Francis and the Lights on the song “Friends” and even on Kanye West’s album “My Dark Twisted Beautiful Fantasy” with the song “Monster." So what’s the new album like?
If people thought the shift from For Emma/Forever Ago to Bon Iver was drastic they didn’t know how much further Justin Vernon and crew would go next. With a more EDM influence apparent on the album, along with more auto-tune, it’s the next logical step in the bands evolution as a grouping. It’s not as dark as For Emma/Forever Ago but like the former lead singer and songwriter, Justin Vernon had suffered through bouts of depression in the writing of the album. While the album of Bon Iver was centralized on locale, the main theme surrounding 22, A Million is numbers. 22 is a number that’s very central to Justin’s life, a number he has a deep connection with as he’s always felt drawn to it. The opening track, "22 (OVER S∞∞N)" is an intro to the new sound, the first of three singles from the album (arguably the first, two were released at one time) and the first song written of the album. According to Justin, it took months for the rest of the ideas for the album's songs to come to him which was understandably frustrating.
But without further ado, the rest of the comprehensive, here is a track by track review of 22, A Million by Bon Iver.
1. 22 (OVER S∞∞N)
As mentioned, the intro to the new sound of the album, "22" is an opening track which has the insecurities blaring as Vernon struggles with either a relationship with a person, God or fame. Each of the three verses favors each of those in order. "22" is a strong opener to the theme of the album which deals with struggles dealt in the last five years. "22" is eerily reminiscent of the message in “Holocene” where Vernon sings, “At once I knew, I was not magnificent,” because it deals with more issues of insecurity and honesty.
2. 10 dEAThbREasT
The other single released at the same time as "22." This song has more grinding noises, is scratchier than the prior song and has a hollow notation to it. "10" also deals with struggles of a relationship as Vernon wails over the scratching “Love Don’t Fight It,” repeatedly as the song reaches an end. Though, unlike "22," this second track has an idea of taking risks and trying to expand one’s mind. While not as strong as "22" with the message, "10" echoes with the remnants of the prior track and allows the theme to push forward to the next song.
3. 715- CRΣΣKS
This song correlates closer to the duality shown in "22," as Vernon struggles with the love of another, the love of God and a loss of faith. His voice echoes more, the new instrument made in studio by engineer Chris Messina, aptly called the Messina, is implemented, splitting harmonies more effectively for the reverberated sound in the song.
4. 33- “GOD”
Arguably the smartest song on the album because of the inflection, lyrics and meanings behind it, 33 “God” can have a multitude of meanings. Coming after 715- CRΣΣKS, it continues the idea of God, the lyric video opening with a quote from Psalms 22: “Why are you so FAR from saving me." 33 is the generally agreed upon age of Christ’s death and the song was released 33 days before the album, while being 3:33 in length. Why’s it not the third song? Cohesion of the album I would guess.
5. 29 #Strafford APTS
There’s a usage of breakage in this song that adds another dimension. The vocal channels are split at a point into each earphone to create a sense of two ideas at once. Towards the end, the vocals are further split in a way that creates dissonance and the idea of further struggle.
6. 666 Upside down Arrow
On continuing the running theme of God, this song, "666 Upside Down Arrow," continues the struggle of faith and relations in general. The usage of the horns and electro beat is charming as Vernon mainly sings in falsetto for the song.
7. 21 M diamond emoji diamond emoji n Water
This track continues the theme of numbers, which is a shift from the prior album which focused upon locations. The song literally begins, "The math ahead." While one of the slower songs, it is one of the longer ones on the album and doesn’t add any extra depth to the album. Throughout the song there’s more echoing and distillation of the vocals.
8. 8 (Circle)
Personally, my favorite song on the album, "8 (Circle)," is calmly delivered as the howling background vocals come in as support over the best lyrics of the album. It’s very reminiscent of the final song on the prior album, "Beth/Rest," which is already called back to the song “dEAThbREasT” due to the rhyme scheme. The best part of the song is Vernon pulling a Dr. Seuss and creating his own word, which he does often in his music, when he says, “astuary."
9. _ _ _ _45_ _ _ _ _
Vernon called this his personal favorite in an interview. It’s also the song that led to the creation of the Messina. The track is about the pain Vernon experienced during a panic attack while in Greece on vacation. It’s repeated throughout, the fire referenced in the song, in reference to his feeling of his chest feeling like it was caving in. Honestly, as nice as the vocals in the song are, I feel bad for Vernon. He doesn’t like fame and he seems to struggle a lot with depressive moods and unrequited love. Yet , he makes amazing music. I hope all is well with this brilliant artist.
10. 00000 Million
Reading 1,000,000 with the track number in front of it, the final track of the album has many references to the Bible, to the album and the issues Vernon has been having as he sings, “It harms me” repeatedly. Oddly enough, one of the repeated lyrics is, “The days have no numbers," which is either the idea that all days have been blending in or the album is mostly associated with numbers. This final track blends well and is one of the more quiet songs on the album. It’s a great song to end on because it doesn’t create the sense of closure we may have wanted, it ends in struggle, just as it began, with glimmers of hope.
I enjoyed this album a lot, it’s witty and clever with hints of solemn despair. If I were to give this a score, I’d rate it a 4.6/5. Sadly, this is the album I least like from Bon Iver, though maybe more listens will help and it's definitely something unique in the music industry.
If you’re looking for new music, check out Bon Iver’s newest offering 22, A Million and their former albums as well.
