Bon Iver (album)
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Bon Iver, Bon Iver /boʊn iːˈvɛər/ is the second studio album from American indie folk band Bon Iver, released on June 17, 2011.[1] The album is composed of 10 songs and was seen as a new musical direction for the band. The album was commercially successful, as it debuted at number one on the Norwegian Albums Chart and the Danish Albums Chart, and number two on the US Billboard 200 chart. It sold 104,000 copies in its first week in the United States. As of January 2012[update], the album has sold a total of 357,811 copies in the United States. It received very positive reviews from critics, some of which named it one of the best albums of 2011. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2012 ceremony, while the song "Holocene" was nominated for Song of the Year and Record of the Year.
The album was recognized as one of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far by Pitchfork Media in August 2014.[2]
History
Bon Iver's second album was rumored to be Letters for Marvin but was later confirmed to be Bon Iver, Bon Iver. "I brought in a lot of people to change my voice – not my singing voice, but my role as the author of this band, this project," said Justin Vernon, band leader and founder, who hired well-known players like bass saxophonist Colin Stetson and pedal-steel guitarist Greg Leisz. "I built the record myself, but I allowed those people to come in and change the scene."[3] The second album is described as an "ambitious musical departure" from the first.[4]
The band announced the release through various media and from the official Jagjaguwar and 4AD websites, on April 20, 2011. The album was recorded in a remodeled veterinarian clinic in Fall Creek, Wisconsin, which was bought by Vernon and his brother in 2008. It was converted into April Base Studios, built mainly over the defunct swimming pool attached to the clinic. Vernon's reason for recording in the location was that "[it's] been a wonderful freedom, working in a place we built. It's also only three miles from the house I grew up in, and just ten minutes from the bar where my parents met."[5]
On May 17, the entire album, for a short time, was accidentally made available for sale on iTunes, resulting in customers buying and leaking the album over torrents and file sharing services.[6] The album entered the UK charts at number 4 in the first week of release.[7]
On November 2011, the album was re-released on iTunes with short films by visual artists Dan Huiting, Isaac Gale, David Jensen, JoLynn Garnes and Justin Vernon himself accompanying each track.[8]
Composition
Vernon has stated that each song on the new album represents a place. The song "Perth" was described as a "Civil War-sounding heavy metal song," while the song "Minnesota, WI" was described as featuring "finger-picked guitars, double bass drums and distorted bass saxophone". The closing song "Beth/Rest" is "horn heavy", and Vernon stated he was most proud of it.[3]
Critical reception
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [9] |
The Guardian | [10] |
No Ripcord | (8/10)[11] |
One Thirty BPM | (87%)[12] |
NME | (7/10)[13] |
Pitchfork Media | (9.5/10)[14] |
Rolling Stone | [15] |
Slant Magazine | [16] |
Spin | (8/10)[17] |
Sputnikmusic | [18] |
The album received acclaim from most music critics upon its release.[19] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 86, based on 42 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim."[19] Paste and Pitchfork Media named the album their top album of 2011,[20][21] while Stereogum, Q, Uncut, Spin, and Mojo placed it at number 3, 4, 9, 14, and 16 respectively, on their "Top 50 Albums of 2011" lists.[22][23][24][25][26]
Tim Sendra, of Allmusic, however, gave the album a mostly mixed review. The criticism stems mainly from the album's departure in sound from Bon Iver's previous work. He accuses the album of being too overblown due to the additional instruments and not as intimate as For Emma, saying, "He was doing just fine on his own and didn't need all those people and instruments cluttering up the air."[9]
Bon Iver, Bon Iver won Best Alternative Music Album at the 2012 Grammy Awards, while the band won Best New Artist for their work on it.[27] Bon Iver was also nominated for Best International Male and Best International Newcomer at the 2012 Brit Awards.[28]
The album was recognized as one of The 100 Best Albums of the Decade So Far by Pitchfork Media in August 2014.[29]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Justin Vernon, except where noted
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "Perth" | 4:22 |
2. | "Minnesota, WI" | 3:52 |
3. | "Holocene" | 5:37 |
4. | "Towers" | 3:08 |
5. | "Michicant" | 3:45 |
6. | "Hinnom, TX" | 2:45 |
7. | "Wash." | 4:59 |
8. | "Calgary" (Vernon, Matt McCaughan) | 4:10 |
9. | "Lisbon, OH" | 1:33 |
10. | "Beth/Rest" | 5:17 |
Personnel
The people involved in the making of Bon Iver, Bon Iver were:[30]
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Chart performance
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Year-end charts
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Release history
Region | Date | Format | Label |
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Ireland[1] | June 17, 2011 | CD, LP, digital download | 4AD |
United Kingdom[43] | June 20, 2011 | ||
United States[44] | June 21, 2011 | Jagjaguwar |
References
- ^ a b "Bon Iver Announce Irish Date, Release Free Download Single, Ireland". Ireland.com.[dead link]
- ^ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9465-the-top-100-albums-of-2010-2014/.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ a b Evan Serpick (March 23, 2011). "Why Bon Iver Had to Relearn Everything He Knows". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ Frontier Psychiatrist, June, 2011
- ^ Bon Iver – Bon Iver :: JAGJAGUWAR
- ^ Perpetua, Matthew (May 20, 2011). "iTunes Accidentally Leaks New Bon Iver Album". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ Murray, Robin (May 27, 2011). "Bon Iver Break Into Top Ten". Clash. Retrieved June 27, 2011.
- ^ Bon Iver to release deluxe digital album CMU, November 21, 2011
- ^ a b Sendra, Tim (June 20, 2011). "Bon Iver – Bon Iver". Allmusic. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ Costa, Maddy (June 16, 2011). "Bon Iver: Bon Iver – review". The Guardian. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ Jones, Benjamin (June 23, 2011). "Bon Iver: Bon Iver – Music Review". No Ripcord. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ Ryan, Will (June 20, 2011). "Album Review: Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver". One Thirty BPM. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ NME Review link
- ^ Richardson, Mark (June 20, 2011). "Album Reviews: Bon Iver: Bon Iver". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ Hermes, Will (May 26, 2011). "Bon Iver by Bon Iver". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ Liedel, Kevin (June 15, 2011). "Bon Iver: Bon Iver". Slant Magazine. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ Wood, Mikael (June 1, 2011). "Bon Iver, Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar)". Spin. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ Cam (May 24, 2011). "Bon Iver – Bon Iver, Bon Iver (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ a b Bon Iver (2011): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2011-06-23.
- ^ The 50 Best Albums of 2011 :: Blogs :: List of the Day :: Paste
- ^ Amanda Petrusich. "Staff Lists: The Top 50 Albums of 2011". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ^ "Stereogum's Top 50 Albums of 2011". Pitchfork Media. December 5, 2011. Retrieved January 15, 2012.
- ^ Uncut's Top 50 Albums Of 2011 Uncut. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ^ Q's 50 Best Albums Of 2011 Q. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ^ SPIN's 50 Best Albums of 2011 Spin. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ^ "MOJO's Top 50 Albums Of 2011". Stereogum. December 2, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2011.
- ^ Jean Pelly (February 12, 2012). "Bon Iver Wins Grammys for Best New Artist, Best Alternative Music Album". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ "Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, PJ Harvey nominated for Brit Awards". Uncut. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/9465-the-top-100-albums-of-2010-2014/.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) - ^ Bon Iver, Bon Iver (CD booklet). Bon Iver. Jagjaguwar. 2011.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ a b c "Bon Iver – Hung Medien". Hung Medien. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Bon Iver Album & Song Chart History – Danish Charts". DanishCharts. Retrieved July 2, 2011.
- ^ "Bon Iver Album & Song Chart History – Canadian Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ Tim Bendzko führt Download-Charts an – media control
- ^ "irishcharts.com – Discography Bon Iver". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 25, 2011.
- ^ "Bon Iver Album & Song Chart History – United Kingdom Album". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "Bon Iver Album & Song Chart History – Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "Bon Iver Album & Song Chart History – Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "Bon Iver Album & Song Chart History – Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "Bon Iver Album & Song Chart History – Rock Albums". Billboard. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
- ^ "Adele's "21" crowned ARIA's highest selling album of 2011 LMFAO takes single honours with "Party Rock Anthem"" (PDF). Retrieved January 1, 2012.
- ^ "Album-Top 100". Hitlisten. IFPI Danmark& Nielsen Music Control. Archived from the original on January 23, 2012.
- ^ "Bon Iver: Bon Iver". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
- ^ "Bon Iver, Bon Iver". Target. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
Further reading
- Caramanica, Jon (June 3, 2011). "Who, What and Where is Bon Iver?". New York Times. Retrieved February 13, 2012.