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CRITIC REVIEWS
100
In facing great expectations, Vernon has simply turned and walked away from the legacy of his debut; rather than attempt to emulate the intimate cabin fever of that album, he has crafted an expansive and ambitious piece – a compelling listen from start to finish.
100
Whether exploring supple R&B in Minnesota, WI, joyful country in Towers, or swollen soft-rock in Beth/Rest, Bon Iver remains rooted in the emotional sincerity that made Vernon's debut so mesmerising.
100
The 10 unconventionally structured songs are less shaky-tent-in-a-snowstorm and more ambitious-skyscraper-blasting-into-the sky.
100
Justin Vernon may have just bettered what is already considered a classic debut album. This is a glorious, daring record that deserves to be huge.
95
After the closeness and austerity of For Emma, Vernon has given us a knotty record that resists easy interpretation but is no less warm or welcoming.
91
For all its introspection, Bon Iver feels a lot more open than Vernon’s previous work, the sound of a lonely guy taking his first steps into a larger world.
91
As Vernon himself admits, this record is a sounds-first album, leading with the how rather than the what. While not a complete sea change, it’s a new approach for Vernon, who finds his Bon Iver project graced with both the tools and the audience for such an approach.
91
An emboldened Vernon achieves a beautiful fantasy all his own, backed by a full band and buoyed with horns and pedal steel.
90
It retains the beautiful melancholy of For Emma, but in nearly every way, it’s just more. More layered, more diverse, more interesting.
90
The album is a shoo-in for being a timeless great, no matter what we say.
90
The entire album is a collaborative project ... yet each song acts like a personal journal entry, documenting Justin Vernon’s experience back with the living, after being with the ghosts of memory for some time.
87
It’s a rich and intricate collage that shows restraint in its cascade of ideas as well as Vernon’s maturity as a songwriter.
85
Bon Iver, Bon Iver is wrought using a dazzling pointillism. Producer Vernon has carefully studded his album with thousands of cul-de-sacs of grace and poise and lavishly attended precision.
80
Those who approach Bon Iver with open minds and open ears will with repeated listens find that Vernon has not strayed too far from his original raison d'etre.
80
Vernon re-accesses that potent sense of self on Bon Iver, a stunning sophomore set whose landscape-painting cover art underscores the idea that his songs inhabit their own psychological space.
80
Justin Vernon and his crew have changed things up here for sure, but the results are every bit as beautiful as you might expect.
80
It is undeniably an album about “growth,” and it has a way of pushing you out of your comfort zone.
80
Bon Iver embarks on a sustainable new direction for the band and is evidence of a successful transition from one-off wonder to durable outfit.
80
It's a logical progression from Emma, and one that few artists have been able to make. Most try to return to their wallowing, to mine the same material that connected them with their audience in the first place. But Vernon deserves tremendous credit for wanting to express his hope and his joy.
80
Vernon’s taken the ingredients that made For Emma transcend its bedroom folkie origins and fly – the hushed, multi-tracked falsetto vocals, the indelible melodies, the evocative, heartbroken lyrics – and expanded upon them.
80
For much of Bon Iver, Vernon takes his cues from Volcano Choir, using an array of disparate instrumentation and looping effects to beautifully eerie effect.
80
It makes these ten tracks slightly less immediate, but just as moving. A wonderful, worthy follow-up.
80
The project is no longer shackled to the minimal, one-man strum of For Emma, but it's all the more beautiful and heart-rending.
80
It is, upon first listen, an undeniably beautiful record. But how that beauty was created takes some time to figure out. You need to dive in and untangle these tightly woven parts. You have to weave through the layered vocals to get at the emotional core of these songs.
80
Vernon's focus has widened but his strange siren song is just as alluring.
75
It is still a very good album, with some pretty songs, but it lacks For Emma, Forever Ago's sense of balance – of completeness.
70
Those looking for the raw catharsis of ‘For Emma…’ will need to cop their misery fix elsewhere – ‘Bon Iver’ is the sound of a man making peace with the world, saxophones and all.
70
The ideas on Bon Iver — Colin Stetson's shimmery horn parts, Rob Moose's elegant arrangements — are engaging even when they don't lead anywhere, and the music is beautiful, even when it veers into schmaltz.
70
Bon Iver represents the full, sweeping scale of what Vernon intended in the first place, this time with his touring band in tow.
60
Despite its hype, its expectations, its blown up sound, and its many production flourishes, Bon Iver is nothing more than a solid placeholder album.
60
Just because we've got a ton of new sounds doesn't mean they've been arranged or mixed all that well.
50
Though he can be praised for not just copying himself and trying to progress, to be honest, For Emma, Pt. 2 would have been far more satisfying than this overblown debacle.
Bon Iver's debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago was one of those albums that felt like it could completely define an artist to the point that it was a bit hard to imagine how it could be followed. We must warn fans of the debut album of Bon Iver, their second studio album entitled "Bon Iver, Bon Iver" has lost this sleek style that had made its popularity. Instead, Justin Vernon and his band go in a very different direction, with several songs with powerful and refined orchestration. In ... read more
Probably the most impressive, mythical and imaginative folk records I've ever heard of.
Justin Vernon trudges through the reconciliation of emotions scattered by the death of Heath Ledger and a falling out with an ex via moments of remembering time spent (smoking) with his brother (Holocene) and love experienced across the towers of his campus dormatory (Towers) in his aptly self-titled expedition.
The pace of the album is soldierlike, as if the listener is with Vernon marching back from battle--the end marking his rebirth--through fog-thick woods in the dawn of early March ... read more
The pace of the album is soldierlike, as if the listener is with Vernon marching back from battle--the end marking his rebirth--through fog-thick woods in the dawn of early March ... read more
Good
Justin Vernon brings a whole lot more instrumentation on his self-titled sophomore record. With cleaner and loren concise production, you can tell that he’s growing as an artist, and that there’s much to come from him. Unfortunately, this record lacks the driving force and emotional energy of his debut.
Color: Grey
FAV TRACKS: Beth/Rest, Perth, Towers
LEAST FAV: n/a
Justin Vernon brings a whole lot more instrumentation on his self-titled sophomore record. With cleaner and loren concise production, you can tell that he’s growing as an artist, and that there’s much to come from him. Unfortunately, this record lacks the driving force and emotional energy of his debut.
Color: Grey
FAV TRACKS: Beth/Rest, Perth, Towers
LEAST FAV: n/a
Every single song is a masterpiece and unique. Justin Vernon's voice is so unique and so defined. I always come back to this album because it is the best when it comes to albums as a whole. Every song has a story also that YOU as the listener can create. You take what you are hearing, and make it your own. The best ones for me is Wash, Halocene, and Towers.
END OF YEAR LISTS
| #1 | / | Paste |
| #1 | / | Pitchfork |
| #2 | / | Amazon |
| #2 | / | Billboard |
| #2 | / | Consequence of Sound |
| #2 | / | FILTER |
| #2 | / | PopMatters |
| #2 | / | Urban Outfitters |
| #3 | / | A.V. Club |
| #3 | / | Stereogum |
| #3 | / | Under the Radar |
| #4 | / | Pretty Much Amazing |
| #4 | / | Q Magazine |
| #5 | / | musicOMH |
| #5 | / | The Guardian |
More Lists
MISC LISTS
Track List
- Perth
- Minnesota, WI
- Holocene
- Towers
- Michicant
- Hinnom, TX
- Wash.
- Calgary
- Lisbon, OH
- Beth/Rest
In Library (147)
pitchfork.com
Listen to 5 New Bon Iver Songs 
pitchfork.com
Bon Iver Announce New Album i,i, Share 2 New Songs 
