Bon Iver
22, A Million
September 30 2016 (Jagjaguwar)
7.5/10
Words: Alison Mack
Justin Vernon brings out all the numbers and symbols for his third album ‘22, A Million' and not least nightmare track titles: ‘29 #Strafford APTS’, ‘10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄’ being just two examples.
It's a world away from his debut 'For Emma, Forever Ago', released a whole nine years past. Here he introduces such touches as a vocoder to build on an electro sheen, leaving possibly just the piano-led, gospel-tinged ‘1000000 Million’ to sound like the artist of old.
It's a world away from his debut 'For Emma, Forever Ago', released a whole nine years past. Here he introduces such touches as a vocoder to build on an electro sheen, leaving possibly just the piano-led, gospel-tinged ‘1000000 Million’ to sound like the artist of old.
Sparse opener '22 (OVER S∞∞N)' sees him lament that, “It might be over soon,” over Auto Tuned vocals and Mahalia Jackson sample. Though there's a way to go in fact. Through the layered vocals of acapella track '715 – CRΣΣKS', through '666 ʇ' which draws on Vernon’s numerology bent over arpeggiated synths - “6’s hang in the Door / what kind of shit to ignore”, around '____45_____', a song carried by Vernon's vocals and a brass section, and out via '33 GOD's experimental samples and keys.
'22, A Million' is an eccentric, somewhat odd affair, but one that exudes a melodic fragrancy.
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