Record Label: Jagjaguwar
Genre: Folk
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

Sometimes I feel like reviewing albums for the sake of increasing the awareness of an otherwise hidden gem. And that’s exactly what Bon Iver’s debut album is.

The album title could be mistaken for an emo album, but this is instead some of the most hauntingly beautiful bedroom folk music since Hayden’s Everything I Long For. In an era where anyone can create high quality home recordings, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon shacked up in the middle of Wisconsin and put together a record full of a distinct low quality recordings, and loads of emotional brevity. Part of the album’s force comes from its minimalist approach, coupled with Vernon’s falsetto vocals. I’ll admit that the first time I was listening through the album, I wasn’t convinced until I hear the third track, ‘Skinny Love’, which features one of the most powerful refrains I’ve heard in a while. Once you hear Vernon’s heartbreaking vocals, you start to really get it. You feel just what he does, and it carries through the rest of the album. The follow up track, ‘Wolves’, carries the same frailty and beauty.

At 9 songs in just over 30 minutes, the album is both quick and self-contained. It’s very easy to get lost in its simple folk and layered vocals. I can only imagine that there are more great things to come from Bon Iver.

Bottom Line: Beautiful and haunting bedroom folk. Fantastic debut.
Notable Tracks: Skinny Love, Wolves, For Emma
Overall Rating: