New Music: Bon Iver's Blood Bank

It's been over a year now since a guy by the name of Justin Vernon (better known as Bon Iver) locked himself in his father's cabin for 3 wintry months, and, using little more than an acoustic guitar and a remarkably distinct voice, recorded For Emma, Forever Ago. A truly haunting and unique album, Emma would most certainly be a shoe-in for the top slot on my 2008 list if TV on the Radio hadn't also made a record this year.

In the 12 months since the self-release of Bon Iver's debut album, Vernon and his music have been catapulted into the limelight by the internet hype machine. Emma was eventually re-released by major indie labels Jagjaguwar and 4AD in the U.S. and Europe, respectively, and showered in critical praise. So, presumably, it will be a different ball game when Vernon's second release as Bon Iver, Blood Bank, comes out in January. True, it is only a 4 track ep, but there will be at least some anticipation to deal with. This is certainly not a self-release by an unknown artist, and, to me, how newer artists deal with these circumstances is one of the most interesting things about music today. Does the artist stick with what works? Do they tweak a few things? Do they take a stab at the magnum opus that they always wanted to create? For some, especially those on major labels, these decisions can be career-makers... or the complete opposite. Because Vernon chose to release an ep rather than a full length album, it would be a stretch to claim that this release will actually have such a dramatic impact, but I certainly don't think the fact that this will be the first new material he's produced since his enormously popular debut is lost on Vernon, either.

Upon a few initial listens, Blood Bank is a somewhat surprisingly faithful continuation of Emma. Don't get me wrong; my surprise doesn't stem from some desire for a change in approach. I certainly wasn't expecting Vernon to pull "a Radiohead", and I wouldn't mind hearing three more lps full of Emma-like tracks, anyway. But after seeing Bon Iver perform live this summer, I was fully expecting any new material to be geared more towards the full band that Vernon had surrounded himself with. After all, he seemed to adapt Emma's content as such in a live setting, and most artists in similar circumstances produce music that utilizes (or accommodates, depending on how you look at it) the new band members. That's not to say there aren't any attempts to venture from the confines that were so well established on Emma, but I don't think there's anything here that could be labeled as experimentation, either. Vernon knows exactly what he wants and what he's doing, and the result definitely won't be mistaken for anything other than Bon Iver.

Aside from going electric on the opener, the first two tracks, "Blood Bank" and "Beach Baby", are vintage Bon Iver. The title track is a slow burner that begins with nothing more than vocals and a driving chord progression, and gradually builds by incorporating auxiliary percussion that evolves into a full kit off in the distance. Immediately afterward, lazy strummer "Beach Baby" sleep-walks in, wearily carrying on until it seems to finally collapse into a deep slumber.

Both are excellent tracks, but both also definitely suggest business as usual for Bon Iver, which is why the 2nd half of the ep is what will most likely steal the show for most fans. Listeners may be surprised (unless they happened to catch a live performance in recent months) to find that "Babys" is anchored by an almost unnerving piano track, only occasionally accompanied by acoustic strums. There's no doubt the introduction of a piano makes sense, and it sounds really good, but its ambition also pales in comparison to that of the final track. Entitled "Woods", the closer sounds completely different from anything previously offered up by Bon Iver. In fact, most people have never heard anything like it before - unless, that is, you've heard Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek". If you have, it really is hard not to compare the two. Admittedly, that may have a lot to do with the fact that both tracks are made up of so few elements, but what is there creates a similarity that is immediately recognizable. It's certainly not a bad thing; both songs, consisting of only voice and vocoder, can't very well be described as anything less than stunning. That being said, even if you're a fan of Imogen Heap and you've already worn out "Hide and Seek" (as I have), Vernon has the capability to immediately take ownership of whatever he puts his voice to. I suppose that, depending on the individual's tastes, this could be a great thing to some and the opposite to others, but the bottom line is this: If you're a fan of Bon Iver, you are definitely going to dig on Blood Bank. In fact, the only real complaint I foresee fans having is the lack of another six or seven tracks. Could be worse.