Again for some reason unknown to me, this band is relatively unheard of. I have to be honest, it took a long time of listening to them for me to realise that Bon Iver was the name of the band and not a solo artist...don’t I feel silly! However it is in actual fact a band and a great band at that. But it does mainly revolve around front-man and genius behind all the writing, Justin Vernon. If you are an extremely cheerful person who likes to look on the bright side and never let life get you down, this band might not appeal to you directly. They are quite depressing, but they do capture that state of mind where you just feel there’s no point to anything quite well. They are the perfect “break-up music”. This is no mistake as their debut album For Emma Forever Ago was written when the singer Justin Vernon was going through a considerably tough time and does appear to carry the breakup theme throughout.

When writing the album, Vernon followed in the tradition of musicians feeling dejected and disillusioned and heading off to some isolated place to be alone and recuperate whilst writing some tunes. Whilst the story of how the album was written can be said to be a bit clichéd, the album can in no be said to follow suit. Following the break-up of his relationship, his band and a bout of poor health (it wasn’t a great time for him!) Vernon packed up his stuff and set off for his father’s log cabin in Wisconsin. According to Vernon, it was at this time that he came up with the name Bon Iver. He was watching a television programme in which people (speaking French) wished each other a good winter or “Bon hiver”. Vernon initially transcribed this as “boniverre” But when he saw the proper French spelling “hiver” he elected not to use it, apparently because it reminded him of liver, the location of his illness at the time! However eventually the name came back around with a different spelling and the confusing band name was born!

Vernon originally hadn’t intended to do any writing or recording in his retreat in the woods but however songs began to come to him and you’ve got to strike while the iron’s hot! His intention was merely to recuperate from the events of the previous year. He said in an interview: “I left North Carolina and went up there because I didn’t know where else to go and I knew that I wanted to be alone and I knew that I wanted to be where it was cold.” He had some recording gear with him as he had just finished helping another band, the Rosebuds to do some recording. Vernon played all of the instruments while recording and each track was heavily edited and overdubbed. His technique for writing was to first record a wordless melody and then listen to it back over and over again and fitting words in according to the sound of the syllables of the melody. (A technique also used by James Hetfield of Metallica...I have no idea why I know this!) He had a guitar lying around the cabin and then he got his brother to drop him off some drums as well as making some instruments for himself (what a talented guy ay!?) The album was originally intended to be a set of demos to be sent out to labels and potentially recorded but upon being told by his friends that they were just fantastic, he decided to release the songs himself in their present state. After signing to indie label Jagjaguwar, the album got a proper release. Vernon has said that he will continue to make albums without engineers or producers because he is capable of doing it all by himself...and fair play to him!!

The album provides an insight into a dark point in a man’s life. Every song on the album has a feel of loneliness, isolation and heartbreak to it that, for some reason, at certain times, when in a certain mood can in a strange way be quite comforting and is incredibly easy to get lost in. You come to empathise with Vernon’s pain. As I’ve already said, it’s not the music that you would choose for a party or for strolling around in the sunshine, but if you’re in a bad mood and you feel that you may punch somebody, there’s something calming about For Emma Forever Ago that will help you to just accept your foul humour and realise that it will pass. In a way Bon Iver functions as an incredibly cheap shrink!! The highlight of the album for me is the song Skinny Love. It’s just such a relaxing song and, lame as it may sound, you can really feel the pain in Vernon’s voice, but you really have to listen to it to understand what I mean. At the same time as being heartbreaking, somehow it also manages to be catchy and you can’t help but tap a foot to it. Actually this is something that is kind of unique about the whole album. Dark, mysterious and heartbreaking as it is, it still manages to be catchy and you will find yourself walking around humming the tunes. Vernon gave quite a notable performance of Skinny Love on Later with Jools Holland which can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfAS6nwYc9g&feature=player_embedded. The fact that Bon Iver were on Jools Holland alone means they’re worth a listen as Jools tends to know his stuff even if you don’t trust me! Anyway for some heartbreakingly beautiful songs, Bon Iver is the band for you!

Podge

Bon Iver don’t currently have any published tour dates, but for all the latest news and information on the band, check out:

http://www.boniver.org/index.php

and

http://www.myspace.com/boniver