A little over 15 years since their first album Blood Bank and 5 years since their last album i,i, Bon Iver reemerged to claim their rightful spot as the rulers of Fall and Winter music, releasing their new EP SABLE, on October 18th. The EP, consisting of three songs and one, somewhat ear-splitting eleven-second opening track lead in, is an otherwise peaceful, melodic, and heart wrenching meditation on feelings of hopelessness, vulnerability, and love that can conquer all.
The EP is characterized by its raw lyrical format and stripped back approach that lets frontman Justin Vernon (who is, to the surprise of many, not the only member of Bon Iver) take center stage with his somber and instantly recognizable tone; a voice that has become a pillar of indie folk music in the 21st century. The trio of songs opens with the track “THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS” where Vernon adopts melancholy into his rich baritone as he outlines feelings of sorrow and uncertainty that plague him and his view of existence. The soft, building acoustics serve as support for Vernon’s lyrics, a constantly repeating guitar riff in the verses highlighting the overwhelming feeling he has that things just keep piling on, that every emotion, every experience, is just a cover for the last. “There are things within things within things. And there are rings within rings within rings.”
The second track, “S P E Y S I D E,” which was released as a single in mid-September of this year, is a thoughtful and intentional song that takes the vulnerability presented in “THINGS BEHING THINGS BEHIND THINGS” to a whole new level. Stripped back to solely Vernon’s voice and an acoustic guitar, “S P E Y S I D E” is an honest account of regret and self-sabotage, opening with the lines “I know now that I can’t make good, but how I wish I could” and only diving further into the psyche of someone broken as the song progresses. In “S P E Y S I D E,” Bon Iver is at their best and most instantly recognizable, with lush acoustics, raw lyrics, and adlibs in Vernon’s signature falsetto, listeners are reminded of the transformative emotional quality of Bon Iver’s music and why it never gets old.
SABLE, concludes with “AWARDS SEASON,” a beautifully simple, hopeful love song that is a thematically welcome departure from the other two tracks in the trio. The song starts nearly acapella, with Vernon’s voice atop a low synth that eventually turns into a wonderfully soft piano as he sings of hope for the future, uplifting listeners by singing softly “Oh, how everything can change, in such a short time frame. You can be remade; you can live again.” Though the lyrics of the song, Vernon is reborn, transformed by the love and understanding of someone who cares about him, putting it as simply as to say he was “received.” No longer does he feel enveloped and defined by his sorrow, (or in his words, no longer is he the “sable”) now he has a hope growing within him, one that the instrumental of the song portrays through building instruments and a soulful saxophone; packing a truly uplifting, emotional punch to round out the EP.
Bon Iver’s SABLE, is a vulnerable, emotional reflection on trauma, guilt, and love wrapped up in a stripped-down, three song package. Through their signature poetic lyricism and understated instrumentals, Bon Iver reemerges and stays true to their classic sound; melodic, atmospheric, gentle, and always led by the soft tone of Vernon’s impressive vocal range. Just in time for the slow, sometimes seasonally depressing days of Fall, SABLE, is an understated, sincere twelve minutes sure to resonate with audiences. As if no time has passed, Bon Iver is back, and they’re more than ready to fill the hole in your playlist, and your heart.
Photo Credits From: Bon Iver
