A Song For Friday: Bon Iver

Justin Vernon returns with a reflective, autumnal gem

I started AnEarful in 2009, after the release of For Emma, Forever Ago, Justin Vernon’s era-shaping debut as Bon Iver, so there’s no written record of the dawn of my relationship with this amazing artist. Suffice it to say, even through the ups and downs of what I called his “willful obscurity” back in 2011, he has been a touchstone artist for me throughout the 15+ years since I first marvelled at Skinny Love and other classic songs.

Vernon is also an astonishing live performer, first knocking me out in Prospect Park in 2011, where I noted that even though “he seemed to give his all, sometimes heading for an emotional brink, I never worried about him, as he projected a grounded and healthy air.” But his success, which included collaborations with Kanye West and Taylor Swift, among others, and the complex and cathartic concerts eventually caught up with him. As noted in his new artist bio on Spotify and elsewhere:

“Being Bon Iver meant playing a part, and intentionally leaning into that role meant frequently pressing hard on a metaphorical bruise. He developed literal physical symptoms from deep anxiety and constant pressure.”

It may be that the pandemic came at just the right time, giving him a chance to breathe after yet more rapture over his last album, 2019’s i,i. In addition to releasing two singles (PDLIF, which raised funds for frontline healthcare workers, and the warmly eccentric AUATC), he began writing the songs (“reflections of guilt and anguish”) that will be on his upcoming EP, Sable, the first of which came out today.

It seems to fit the narrative perfectly that Speyside, now finely honed after two years of live takes, strips back the multilayered and genre-skipping production that has defined every album since For Emma, presenting Vernon almost as we heard him on that album. It’s not a retro move, however, just a return to first principles. Vernon is an even more masterful songwriter now, more in command of his sublime vocal instrument, and a virtuoso acoustic guitar player who never needs to show off. Joined on the track by longtime collaborator Rob Moose, who adds viola, Speyside, is one of the most direct and vulnerable songs Bon Iver has ever released. Listen and let it in.

The first two verses simply say it all about the headspace the “long-gestating breakdown” put him in:

I know now that I can't make good
How I wish I could
Go back and put
Me where you stood
Nothing’s really something now the whole thing’s soot

It serves to suffer make a hole in my foot
And hope you look
As I fill my book
What a waste of wood
Nothing’s really happened like I thought it would

The song concludes with a telling line, “Really know now what had hold on me,” which suggests he’s come out the other side. Welcome back. Sable comes out October 18th.

From the archives:
Best Of 2023: Out Of The Past
Best Of 2022: Out Of The Past
Best Of 2019: Rock, Folk, Etc.
Bon Iver’s Dance Music
Best Of 2016: The Top 20
Repaving The Way To A Fantastic Fall
The Rest Of 2009