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Editorial Review:
It's hard to believe that For Emma, Forever Ago is the work of one man. But when Justin Vernon's old band split he hauled himself (and presumably plenty of instruments and recording equipment) to his dad's hunting cabin in the woods of Wisconsin for the coldest season and worked through his issues in musical form. (The name comes from the French for "good winter"--"bon hiver"). By the start of the spring thaw he had recorded the bulk of this stunning debut, originally self-issued to acclaim last year in the USA and now picked up for a British release. Vernon's voice grabs the ear from the start, switching easily into a smooth falsetto (and unusually for a white indie lad, without the slightest intent of emulating Prince). The formula is straightforward. He layers his vocal harmonies, while a gently strummed acoustic rhythm guitar just about holds the centre. All else from horns to slide guitar is mere detail. The quality is rough and ready but the effect is strangely similar though to the slick vocal confections of European women like Bjork and Camille, all mystery and distance. It's the musical equivalent of reading someone else's diary. In code. Through a dirty window. Enigmatic songs like the elegantly stumbling "Creature Fear" with its rowdy horn parts, the resolute opener "Flume" and the evanescent "Team" are just so pretty they seem to glide by without leaving a mark in the snow. Vernon is apparently a straightforward and friendly guy, but For Emma, Forever Ago genuinely sounds like something from a far off place. --Steve Jelbert
It's hard to believe that For Emma, Forever Ago is the work of one man. But when Justin Vernon's old band split he hauled himself (and presumably plenty of instruments and recording equipment) to his dad's hunting cabin in the woods of Wisconsin for the coldest season and worked through his issues in musical form. (The name comes from the French for "good winter"--"bon hiver"). By the start of the spring thaw he had recorded the bulk of this stunning debut, originally self-issued to acclaim last year in the USA and now picked up by 4AD for a British release. Vernon's voice grabs the ear from the start, switching easily into a smooth falsetto (and unusually for a white indie lad, without the slightest intent of emulating Prince). The formula is straightforward. He layers his vocal harmonies, while a gently strummed acoustic rhythm guitar just about holds the centre. All else from horns to slide guitar is mere detail. The quality is rough and ready but the effect is strangely similar though to the slick vocal confections of European women like Bjork and Camille, all mystery and distance. It's the musical equivalent of reading someone else's diary. In code. Through a dirty window. Enigmatic songs like the elegantly stumbling "Creature Fear" with its rowdy horn parts, the resolute opener "Flume" and the evanescent "Team" are just so pretty they seem to glide by without leaving a mark in the snow. Vernon is apparently a straightforward and friendly guy, but For Emma, Forever Ago genuinely sounds like something from a far off place. --Steve Jelbert
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Best album of 2008 by a country mile For Emma just creeps up on you and invades your existence but in the most wondrous way. Had an awful long drive home one evening in the pitch darkness and listened to it properly. It's like having your best in friend in the car with you. When it finished I just put it back on again. Very wintry, isolated, atmospheric and lovely. Creature Fear and Lump Sum are brilliant. Lets not mess about all the songs are superb. And then of course there is "Re. Stacks" - the song of the year. Quite where Justin Vernon... more info
If you get it I feel this is one of them albums which people may not get, or just not give enough time too. Im glad that i gave this album time , i have listened to it more than any other from start to finish. Every song has its beauty but for me the crescendo towards the end of "The Wolves (act 1 and 2) is one of the most emotional peices of music i have heard. To put it simply , just buy it.
Masterpiece.
In a similar vein to Damien Rice's magnificent album O, For Emma, Forever Ago is currently spending its gestation time simmering below the radar of popular consciousness before it surely soars into the affections of many. Like Damien Rice before him, Justin Vernon (who goes by the more commonly known alias Bon Iver) has created a record of such delicate beauty that you are left amazed by how it could leave you drained and affected by so many tangible, powerful emotions. Although many reading this... more info
Layered, brooding, lyrical - a subtley wonderful debut A quick and coarse appraisal of Bon Iver's sound would describe him as an upliftingly melancholic, lower-fi version of Ray LaMontagne with a guitar sound akin to busked early Joni Mitchell and Nick Drake and a vocal similarity to Elliott Smith. A hint of The Beatles in acoustic mode peeps out sometimes along with the odd arresting, soaring moment reminiscent of Anthony and the Johnsons. None of that takes account of the uniqueness of his poetical, sparse, dense lyrics and layered, building, brooding... more info
