Bon Iver
For Emma, Forever Ago

THE REVIEW

A record with a magical aura.

This is what "For Emma, Forever Ago" by Bon Iver (a play on the French "bon hiver"), the pseudonym behind which the young American songwriter Justin Vernon hides, is. And to think that one of the best folk songwriting productions of recent years could have remained unknown if JagJaguwar, the label among others of Richard Youngs, hadn't taken the trouble to print and officially distribute it in 2007.

Before then, the record indeed was released as a self-production and had traveled only in the underground and university circuits of the United States.

The record in question, as partially mentioned, has a very unique genesis and story. The author indeed conceived it entirely during four months of complete isolation in an old family farmhouse, at the end of a romantic relationship and following the dissolution of his group, the Deyarmond Edison.

In the cold, in solitude, and in the silence of the Wisconsin woods, with the only companions an acoustic guitar, a recorder, snow to shovel, and venison sticks to microwave, Justin confronts his demons, insecurities, doubts, and fears.

The result is an essential, sparse, and minimalist record, with little room for arrangements, but of rare beauty and intensity.

A timeless folk record, suspended, reminiscent of the great songwriters of the '60s and '70s, especially the more bucolic Neil Young (Vernon's tone and falsetto remarkably recall him), Tim Buckley, and Nick Drake, but also Will Oldham and Iron & Wine, to speak of current times.

On the record, where Vernon's faint falsetto stands out against the warm and enveloping melodies of his guitar, reigns an ethereal, bittersweet atmosphere of spleen, of nostalgia, melancholy, but also great optimism and faith in the future. The record can be listened to from start to finish in one breath, almost like a concept (if I may use the term).

Even though all the tracks are noteworthy, I feel a particular mention should go to the pulsating and syncopated "Lump Sum", with a spectral intro featuring choirs reminiscent of Gregorian chants, the poignant "Skinny Love" (watch the video of the performance on Jools Holland Show on YouTube), "For Emma", again pure rural Young, and finally "re:Stacks", 6.14 minutes of surprising sweetness that worthily close Justin's "good winter".