Right from the go, Bon Iver's 22, A Million waves away expectations of what both it and it's folk-indy creators are supposed to be. Fans of Bon Iver's previous work have witnessed their competency at crafting deep, reflective narratives through softly experimental tunes - however, prior to this most recent release, they have never strayed far from their folksy roots. 22, A Million can therefore be thought of as an expedition from one paradigm to another - Bon Iver may be looking for new shores to settle, or perhaps they are only exploring, but while they have left much of their previous style behind, they did not neglect to bring along their greatest strengths: Intricate narrative, lyrical craftiness, and mood-building.

Any conversation surrounding the themes of this work begin with its title, which alludes to a reoccurring motif of numbers and their stabilizing presence in our lives. The opening track "22 Over Soon" flings paint across a tonal vastness to fill its thematic canvas with color, touching on themes of enclosure, division, and miscommunication. These ideas reemerge throughout the 10 tracks, flavoring themselves with nostalgia in songs like "715, CREEKS" and "29 #STRAFFORD APTS". That warm longing matures into anxious uncertainty in "666", yet incredibly, the track following that ("21 Moon Water") defies expectations once more by resolving such fears through a turn to mathematics. This atmospheric song weaves its way through a lyrical landscape in awe with the quantifiable. This newfound confidence continues in the following song, yet is challenged once again in "____45_____" (yes, that is it's real title), the ninth track, which meteorically crashes back into the primordial stillness of nostalgia and disassociation. Everything finds closure, however, in "00000 Million", the closing track, which finally finds reconciliation between the dueling forces of cold logic and warm vulnerability which have warred throughout the album, acknowledging in its own way that while numbers don't lie, they also defy our desperation to attach what harms us to their logic. This is summed up by Justin Vernon, frontman and singer for Bon Iver, when he croons as the final words of this album: "When the days have no numbers / Well it harms me, it harms me, it harms me, I'll let it in."

22, A Million is an unconventional piece of art, and asks its listener to trust it before offering up its layered wisdom. Many reviewers have compared it to Radiohead's Kid A, as both albums mark a sudden, deeply experimental shift for their respective bands - I would agree with this sentiment, and add that like Kid A, Bon Iver's 22, A Million will be remembered as an instant classic, and hopefully as a portend to a stronger age of music.