One of the biggest reasons I loved Bon Iver’s first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, was the unedited, in-person experience he was able to capture in the studio. With a mostly sparse instrumentation consisting primarily of guitar, piano, and often gorgeously harmonized vocals, the album presented songwriting whose low-fi, laid-bare style worked in its favor, for a change. When I heard it for the first time I got the sense that I could have been listening to a songwriting prodigy (which, I think it’s safe to say, Justin Vernon is) playing out a tune for the first time on the living room stand up piano. In the best way, there were ample strains of CSNY and Tom Waits.

To my great delight, he’s just released the first single, “Calgary,” from his upcoming self-titled album. It features a more deeply produced, synth-laden sound – inspired, perhaps, by his time spent writing with Kanye West? I think it works fantastically – it touches on some of the aspects that made TV On The Radio’s latest album so good, especially the song, “Killer Crane.” At the same time he doesn’t seem to have sacrificed any of his original appeal. For your streaming pleasure:

Calgary by Bon Iver