The sound of Bon Iver’s last album, 2016’s pioneering 22, A Million, was a monument to the strengths of singer-songwriter Justin Vernon: orchestral folk fed into an old motherboard, unwieldy lyrics sourced from the well of his subconscious, old-timey terms for smoking weed. It pulled from every corner of his career, from the cafe-acoustic sound of his debut to the lush and chiming elegies of his 2011 self-titled album. The newest single, “Hey Ma” pulls a little weaker. It’s less of a step forward and more of an amalgam of everything Vernon has done with this project since its inception, one that highlights the strength of his song- and melody-making, even if it’s the most MOR thing the band has done. But he sings, “I was toking on dope” so he’s still got that going for him.
22 A Million producer BJ Burton returns to color the track with flittering alien textures, and Vernon sings in his earnest, untreated voice about childhood memories, bathtime (maybe?), calling your mom, and closes the chorus with a typically impressionistic line: “You’re back and forth with light.” The song doesn’t quite tower and crash like the best of Bon Iver, Bon Iver and it doesn’t really lead you to places unknown, but it places you firmly in the increasingly defined world of Bon Iver: sensitive and dreamy, warm synths and a few saxophones, capturing the feeling of escaping the present for an idyllic past. No surprises, no Ace Hotels, no production flourishes that steal the spotlight, just a small landmark on big map of Bon Iver.
