Obviously not all great music is overtly great, meaning that not all music which captivates does so in an immediate "holy-shit-this-is-amazing" kind of way. More meditative, ambient, or subdued music has a quiet intensity often lost upon the first few listens, or at least until the listener is willing to invest in the "sound world" of the disc. Qwertyuiop (did your cat walk across the keyboard when you signed up?) brought up Boxer as an example of music that didn't quite "snap" into focus. I had the same attitude, but there was a night of smoky haze around the city where my friends and I enjoyed some cigs and all of a sudden I heard "Slow Show" in my head...conjured out of nowhere. Since then I have loved the National and they keep getting better. I think Bon Iver is the same way. When Jack X first made me aware of the album I was impressed for the slight experimentation (the ambient intros or interludes...the rustic nature of the recording) but I wasn't quite blown away. Since then the record has grown, the lyrics have taken on new dimensions of meaning, and the whole beautiful longing of this album really has gotten to me.

I'm late getting this compared to many of you, but damn this is a really great album. I love how much soul it has. The TV on the Radio comparisons to Justin Vernon's voice I've read on a couple of reviews are spot on. Especially with the double tracked falsetto harmonies. Without a doubt, head and shoulders above anything I've heard from 2008 so far.

I bought into the hype and couldn't wait to listen to this album... around when the physical form of the CD was released.

my favorite genre is folk, and i get his music. i listened thorougly..and i like it. but i really can't say that i've ever been fanatical about it. i feel like i should, as it's the exact kind of record i should obsess over. but something just isn't happening for me. i've seen this type of album done before.

but really, i'd still recommend it for a listen, especially for the fantastic vocals.

Go to YouTube, type in "The Road, Bon Iver". Tell me if that doesn't make you love the last song more.

i've been listening to it over and over for the past week. i love the vocals more and more and some of the orchestration is really great.
Skinny Love is my favorite

Missed out on this last year, but bought the new release last month. I have to say that I liked it from the first listen. I listened to it while walking on a trail in the woods after a big snow storm and nothing would have worked better.

I don't know if I totally buy the back story (guy lives in a cabin for four months and subsists only on deer and stew that he makes himself, happens to have his recording gear in his trunk, hunts by day and records alone by night, etc.), but the album is a complete success. It's a distillation of everything I like about music.

Also, regarding the lyrics, I don't think they're very strong on the page, but like the best lyrics, are perfect when sung in the context of the songs. Sometimes the best music has the ability to make the lyrics seem like no others lyrics would do. That's how I feel about this album. I fear, though, that this might be a one-off, perfect album that is impossible to top from him.

I just got this and I wish I would have got it much earlier. I love the vocals, and just all the little details, like the re-occuring string noises of "Flume". "Skinny Love" and "Flume" are amazing...I will hopefully be seeing Bon Iver live in two weeks and I'm very excited. I think this will be an interesting album live.

quote:

Originally posted by spudthemagicelf:
my favorite genre is folk, and i get his music. i listened thorougly..and i like it. but i really can't say that i've ever been fanatical about it.

This is how I feel as well. I really like the first and last songs on the album, but the rest is just OK for me. People seem to love "Skinny Love" in patricular, and I see nothing special about that song.

Hands down, this is one of the best and most original indie folk albums since Sufjan's "Illinois".

I have to say I've really warmed up to this album. The first few times I listened to it I didn't really think that much of it but its definitely growing on me.

I think it's a really good album, and the music and melodies and delivery is perfect. It is missing a few things for my tastes though. I like my folk albums to have story, and character, and overhanging themes. For Emma is more about moods and glimpses of a situation.

There isn't anything wrong with that, of course. I just realized that this is why I'm not headover heals about it, like it really seems like I should be.

"Re:Stacks" is beautiful.

I've been listening to this album for the last several days. It's getting better and better for me.

Hmmm... I'm gonna have to check this out I suppose.

quote:

Originally posted by JGlass:
Hmmm... I'm gonna have to check this out I suppose.

Yeah, it's a terrific album, in my opinion. My vinyl copy is finally going to come in and I am excited about that.

This one just snapped into place for me. I definately like it, primarily for the spinklings of inspired melodic turns. The overall ambient cabin & chair solitude of it works for me, and his voice is just gosh-darn adorable. But two things. Can people really count this for '08? If so, can we count Robyn as '08 too? That just doesn't seem right. Secondly, is it just my copy of it that's quieter than everything else in my collection? I mean I can turn it up and it sounds comparable, but it's irksome for making playlists, etc. Was it just recorded that way? Peace.

EDIT: An easy parallel to this album, French Quarter. Very similar aesthetic. Anyone got an opinion this? Heard about it from CMG.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: goathouse's enlarging prostate,

quote:

Originally posted by goathouse:
This one just snapped into place for me. I definately like it, primarily for the spinklings of inspired melodic turns. The overall ambient cabin & chair solitude of it works for me, and his voice is just gosh-darn adorable. But two things. Can people really count this for '08? If so, can we count Robyn as '08 too? That just doesn't seem right. Secondly, is it just my copy of it that's quieter than everything else in my collection? I mean I can turn it up and it sounds comparable, but it's irksome for making playlists, etc. Was it just recorded that way? Peace.

EDIT: An easy parallel to this album, French Quarter. Very similar aesthetic. Anyone got an opinion this? Heard about it from CMG.

I think it's pretty fair to call it '08. It was a very limited self-release in '07. Not even that many people here had it in '07. I got in in mid-December, the day after I'd posted my list, so I'm definitely listing it.

Great album, one of the best this year so far ...