(2018) Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago [10th Anniversary Reissue]





Review:

Justin Vernon and Jagjaguwar are re-releasing For Emma, Forever Ago on vinyl and CD to commemorate its 10th anniversary. In the time since its release, Vernon has distinguished himself as one of the most distinctive, original, and essential voices of his musical generation.

For Emma is, yes, a breakup album — Vernon recorded it after the dual personal disasters of heartbreak and the dissolution of his band. But in the persona that he builds throughout the course of the album, he never once descends into self-pity, and this is what gives For Emma such enormous strength. Vernon’s falsetto and his unprecedented use of Auto-Tune, the minimalist guitar strums, the unconventional percussion, and background noise (think of the buildup of sound at the end of “The

Wolves (Act I and II)”) all hold a special kind of alchemy.The re-issue doesn’t include any additional tracks, demos, or clues to how the whole thing came together (a disappointment), but it does include an essay by childhood friend and longtime Vernon collaborator Trever Hagen.

Ten years on, For Emma, Forever Ago transcends time, evoking themes and emotions that are universally relatable. As Hagen observes in his essay, “Many of For Emma’s lyrics are another person singing these words to Justin. They are the composed phrases of self-criticism.” Maybe so, but even in their fiercest moments, they have an undertone of gentleness, and they remind us to be gentle to ourselves.











Tracklist:

01 - Flume

02 - Lump Sum

03 - Skinny Love

04 - The Wolves (Act I And II)

05 - Blindsided

06 - Creature Fear

07 - Team

08 - For Emma

09 - Re; Stacks





Summary:

Country: USA

Genre: indie-folk





Media Report:

Source                           : CD

Format                           : FLAC

Format/Info                      : Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM

Bit rate mode                    : Variable

Bit rate                         : ~ 584-778 Kbps

Channel(s)                       : 2 channels

Sampling rate                    : 44.1 KHz

Bit depth                        : 16 bits