Right before I got Bon Iver’s second full length LP, Bon Iver, I heard it commented that the lyrics were unintelligible and  ”postmodern.” It was established that this meant that they made little sense, even when you looked them up online. I can verify this - if you want Bob Dylan, look elsewhere. There is certainly a great amount to be said for lyrics that make at least a modicum of sense – these are not the ones you’re looking for. Even when allowing for the most lenient of poetic licenses, it is a stretch to say that Justin Vernon consistently uses even proper English. My favorite example, from the excellent “Minnesota, WI:”

doubled in the toes annex it, it minute closed in the morning
did not lose it in the stack’s stow, imma lay that call back on ya
you know it won’t beseech you, we’re laying in an open field
I will let you grow, no need to know this
so carry on my dear, what is clear up in the daylight is we’re hung here
fall is coming soon, a new year for the moon and the Hmong here

One would be right to criticize it for its perhaps gratuitous poetic manipulation, and indeed, I would be annoyed if someone told me they loved this album simply because of its words, independent of their musical setting – my bullshit meter would go off at the first hint of such tripe. There is enough uninspiring, over-hyped emo nonsense out there – this is not one of them. The contradiction in Bon Iver is that although Vernon’s lyrics may be consistently, let’s say, “postmodern,” they are still beautiful. “Minnesota, WI,” though inexplicably named, is a fantastic song.  Its words are beautiful not in their meaning but because Vernon values them – and uses them – purely for the sounds they make when set to his hauntingly sung music.

That’s kind of representative of how I feel about the Bon Iver album in general: it sometimes feels impossible to understand in a head-on, literal sense, but all the same it is an inexplicably powerful, often gorgeous work of art. I find myself playing it at the strangest times, and though it is mostly downtempo, for the most part is is engaging throughout. (Sometimes it is too consistently downtempo – “Holocene,” though pretty in its own right, feels too slow considering the surrounding songs and brings down the opening a bit).

Bon Iver comes on the heels of Vernon’s first full length LP, For Emma, Forever Ago, and instrumentally it could hardly be more different. Whereas For Emma featured a low-fi “cabin in the woods” feel (that’s where he wrote and recorded it, after all), consisting primarily of acoustic guitar, piano, and vocal harmony, Bon Iver is much more slickly produced. This conceivably could have backfired – For Emma was one of the few truly low-fi offerings out there that used that quality to its greatest advantage – you really felt like you were spending the winter in the Midwest woods, pining for lost love. Fortunately, Vernon proves to be a master of production as well as songwriting: he uses the mostly plugged-in aesthetic to great advantage. He’s able to keep some of that lonely acoustic feel, as in “Wash.,” and also experiment in ways he couldn’t have before – “Lisbon, OH” is a great example. It’s got an ethereal, otherworldly feel that doesn’t sound hokey or overdone. I’d love to see more tracks like this integrated into his next album.

In addition to the more experimental fare, the album has an impressive amount, and range, of good, solid songwriting. “Towers,” my favorite track, channels classic Nashville slide guitar in a refreshing way, and there’s more than a little Sufjan in “Michicant.” “Beth / Rest” has a bluesy, Pat Metheny feel to it – it gave me fond memories of listening to Metheny’s song “Last Train Home” when I was a kid. My one complaint would be that the album drags just a tad towards the end, which ends up taking a little away from that last song – your attention hasn’t been held quite as tautly as it could have been. But that’s a minor qualm: my advice is to start it from the captivating first track, “Perth,” and let it take you from there.

Bon Iver – “Calgary” by blatanti
Bon Iver – Wash. by Fluid Radio