Bon Iver’s ‘SABLE’: A Journey of Heartbreak and Transformation

Bon Iver’s Musical Evolution: A Journey Through Heartbreak and Change

Bon Iver’s debut album, ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’, released in 2008, serves as a poignant reflection of heartbreak and personal transformation. The band’s frontman, Justin Vernon, found himself at a crossroads after enduring a serious illness and a painful breakup. In search of solace, he retreated to a rustic cabin in the serene woods of Wisconsin, where he poured his heart into writing and recording over three months. The resulting tracks, including ‘Flume’, ‘Re: Stacks’, and the widely covered ‘Skinny Love’, resonated deeply, capturing a generation’s collective sense of listlessness and soul-crushing loneliness. These songs became the soundtrack to countless coming-of-age moments, evoking a campfire intimacy amidst the wilderness of emotions.

Since that transformative debut, Vernon has released three additional studio albums: the sweeping melancholy of 2011’s ‘Bon Iver, Bon Iver’, the experimental and synth-laden ’22, A Million’ in 2016, and 2019’s ‘i,i’, which solidified his status as one of the most innovative and beloved musical figures of our time. Along the way, he has collaborated with some of the industry’s biggest names, including Taylor Swift, The National, Kanye West, and most recently, Charli XCX on her new remix album ‘Brat And It’s Completely Different But Also Still Brat’.

The release of the new EP ‘SABLE’ arrives at a timely moment, coinciding with the seasonal shift that often brings a chill of reflection and the shedding of past burdens. The EP opens with a dissonant electronic hum, transporting listeners to a liminal state reminiscent of dial tones or the eerie silence of flatlined monitors—an unsettling ringing that hints at a reset, a release of what once was.

Vernon’s four new tracks present an achingly beautiful confrontation with change, peeling back layers of artifice to reveal an artist grappling with vulnerability and restlessness, navigating through emotional reconciliation. In a manner similar to his earlier works, Vernon began recording ‘SABLE’ in isolation during the pandemic of 2020, a period fraught with anxiety that forced many to confront their innermost selves in a world turned strange and frightening.

In ‘THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS’, Vernon wrestles with introspection, employing his signature lyrical repetition: “I would like the feeling / I would like the feeling / I would like the feeling gone.” This piece conveys the sensation of slow-dancing with one’s worries, the music never daring to soar, but instead gently ebbing and flowing like the tide of emotions that occasionally washes ashore difficult revelations: “I am afraid of changing.”

The simplicity of Vernon’s lyrics has always been one of his greatest strengths, expressing profound truths with a raw honesty. In ‘SPEYSIDE’, the anxious energy of the previous track transforms into a poignant grappling with guilt. Against the somber backdrop of an acoustic guitar, he reflects, “I know now that I can’t make good / But how I wish I could go back and put / Me where you stood.” The song is steeped in regret and longing, a heartfelt desire to amend past mistakes, yet it also embraces acceptance, all accompanied by sympathetic strings that allow a glimmer of hope: “Well maybe you can still make a man from me.”

By the time listeners reach the final track, ‘AWARDS SEASON’, the weight of sadness appears to lift, making way for a newfound resilience and acceptance. “I can handle / Way more than I can handle / So I keep reaching for the handle / To flood my heart,” Vernon’s voice soars over a cerebral hum, gradually enriched by layers of piano, strings, and a soaring saxophone reminiscent of Bon Iver’s iconic ‘Beth/Rest’. The instrumentation flows freely, weaving in and out like the currents of change: “And you know what is great / Nothing stays the same.”

Each Bon Iver album features a comma in its title, suggesting an ongoing thought, a mid-sentence exploration that remains unresolved. This unique approach has endeared Vernon’s music to many, encapsulating the endlessly wandering existential queries of our inner worlds. ‘SPEYSIDE’ stands out as one of Vernon’s most intimate offerings to date, shedding pretense in a deeply affecting rebirth of an artist who has always recognized the pull of change, even as he begins to fully embrace its potential.

Bon Iver’s ‘SPEYSIDE’ is out now.

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