For Emma Forever Ago

 

 

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I would regard Damien Rice's "O" as possibly the best debut album in the last decade. But I would place "For Emma, Forever Ago" as a close second.

We all know the story; Justin Vernon, who just so happens to have the ethereal, silvery voice of an angel, gets dumped by his girlfriend (maybe the craziest woman alive?) and faced other hardships like the breaking-up of his current band and a case of mononucleosis, retreats to a cabin in Wisconsin, and records this record. The story is enchanting, the record is even more so.

I can't quite put into words how real and raw this record is; it's not only vocally haunting but lyrically jaw-dropping and the songs are mellow and difficult and reflect the ultimate solitary consciousness. With his whispery crooning, Vernon manages to touch even the darkest of souls and demonstrates both himself, and exactly how it feels to be in a season of personal hardships. While some believe it is a myth that suffering breeds great art, in this case, it DEFINITELY did.

I can't recommend this album enough; it is cerebral and emotional and packed with sparse raw emotion, blood, sweat and tears. After you listen to this record, love and breakups will never be the same for you again.

I can't stop listening to this CD! I am in love with it! I Highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys "real" music! So peaceful.

The biographical details behind the creation of an album shouldn't matter when it comes to a listener's enjoyment, but For Emma, Forever Ago, Justin Vernon's debut as Bon Iver, exudes such a strong sense of loneliness and remoteness that you might infer some tragedy behind it. So, to skirt the rumor mill, here are the particulars, as much or as little as they might apply: In 2005, Vernon's former band DeYarmond Edison moved from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, to North Carolina. As the band developed and matured in its new home, the members' artistic interests diverged and eventually the group disbanded. While his bandmates formed Megafaun, Vernon-- who had worked with the Rosebuds and Ticonderoga-- returned to Wisconsin, where he sequestered himself in a remote cabin for four snowy months. During that time, he wrote and recorded most of the songs that would eventually become For Emma, Forever Ago.

As the second half of its title implies, the album is a ruminative collection of songs full of natural imagery and acoustic strums-- the sound of a man left alone with his memories and a guitar. Bon Iver will likely bear comparisons to Iron & Wine for its quiet folk and hushed intimacy, but in fact, Vernon, adopting a falsetto that is worlds away from his work with DeYarmond Edison, sounds more like TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe, not just in his vocal timbre, but in the way his voice grows grainier as it gets louder.

Vernon gives a soulful performance full of intuitive swells and fades, his phrasing and pronunciation making his voice as much a purely sonic instrument as his guitar. In the discursive coda of "Creature Fear" he whittles the song down to a single repeated syllable-- "fa." Rarely does folk-- indie or otherwise-- give so much over to ambience: Quivering guitar strings, mic'ed closely, lend opener "Flume" its eerily interiorized sound, which matches his unsettling similes. "Lump Sum" begins with a choir of Vernons echoing cavernously, which, along with that rhythmically rushing guitar, initiates the listener into the song's strange space.

For Emma isn't a wholly ascetic project, though. A few songs benefit from additional recording and input after Vernon's initial sessions: Christy Smith of Raleigh's Nola adds flute and drums to "Flume", and Boston-based musicians John DeHaven and Randy Pingrey add horns to "For Emma"; surprisingly, their company doesn't break the album's spell of isolation, but rather strengthens it, as if they're only his imaginary friends. Vernon turns the cabin's limitations into assets on "The Wolves", layering his falsetto, tweaking his vocal tones to simple yet devastating effect, and piling on clattering percussion to create a calamitous finale.

That passage contrasts nicely with the simple intro to the next track, "Blindsided", which builds from a single repeating note into a halting chorus melody that sells his skewed Walden imagery: "I crouch like a crow/ Contrasting the snow/ For the agony, I'd rather know." Vernon's lyrics are puzzle pieces that combine uneasily; his nouns tend to be concrete, yet the meanings slippery. On "Flume", the lines "I am my mother's only one/ It's enough" form a strong opener, but the song grows less and less lucid: "Only love is all maroon/ Lapping lakes like leery loons/ Leaving rope burns-- reddish ruse." It's as if he's trying to inhabit the in-between spaces separating musical expression and private rumination, exposing his regrets without relinquishing them. His emotional exorcism proves even more intense for being so tentative.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Mellow Tunes
I enjoyed this album a lot! A must have if you like mellow alternative music. I know I like it!

Published 4 months ago by Jester

5.0 out of 5 stars fantastic album
this album is extremely calm and soothing. having it on vinyl heightens the listening experience. i would invite everyone who wants to mellow out on a rainy day to give this... Read more

Published on Jan 26 2010 by H. Wright

5.0 out of 5 stars athentic and simple music that is beautiful, not sappy
Great disc, stands out in this era of bloated,hyped, and inauthenic music... the best of modern folk.

My only significant criticism - too brief. Read more

Published on April 3 2009 by B. Keith

5.0 out of 5 stars Quite simply one of the most beautiful records ever
I simply can't stop playing it. The voice is haunting and my only complaint is the record is too short.

Published on Aug 6 2008 by Richard A. Crookes

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