SABLE, EP - Bon Iver: Review

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Review by Lavender:

Bon Iver is the beloved indie folk project of Justin Vernon which has been a magnet of critical acclaim for nearly 20 years. The project's 4th album I,I dropped in 2019 but Bon Iver hasn't exactly been quite since then. In addition to two singles that dropped in 2020, Vernon has popped up as a producer and collaborator for a variety of other artists in the meantime. The most notable of the bunch are Taylor Swift and Travis Scott, but he's also collaborated with Zach Bryan, The Japanese House, and most recently Charli XCX. But now Bon Iver is back returning to the format where they once made a smash with the critical darling Blood Bank EP all the way back in 2009.

The EP has a short intro, but its bulk is made up of just three songs. Let's start with the single S P E Y S I D E which lands in the middle of SABLE. It's an absolutely wonderful song I've loved since the moment it dropped. Not only is it catchy in the same way Vernon's best work is, especially across his last two records, but it develops in such a satisfying way that makes the journey feel every bit as worthwhile as the destination. By the time we finally get to the titular mention of Speyside it feels like the context and set-up has given it such a lively presence in the narrative of the song, it's a wonderful moment. 

The de-facto opener THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS is a pretty confrontational challenge right out of the gate that sees Justin discussing some existential angst around his fame and addressing the things he buries rather than confronting them. It turns the clock back instrumentally with some folksy plucked strings and vocals presented without some of the processing that defined records like 22, A Million. It also eventually gets some distant backing vocals that are subtle but help to sell things quite a bit. 



Finally, there's the closer AWARDS SEASON, which as its title would suggest is a further analysis of Justin's feelings on his own fame. Despite its somber beginning, the song doesn't actually seem that content to wallow. Instead, we get context for the title of the EP alongside beautiful backing vocals that emerge around the midpoint. Even though its verses are sparse, they also take a turn with the song eventually becoming the most instrumentally verbose on the record and all the better for it. 

It's great having Bon Iver back. Even without a full album's worth of material to digest there is plenty enough here to keep me and the other Bon Iver fans happy in the meantime. For a project whose early days I'm still not crazy about I was impressed with how satisfying a return to a more rootsy sound felt. Mostly it's just the continued poise as a songwriter, producer, and lyricist that keeps the level of execution on this EP so high. Believe the hype, Bon Iver sounds as good as ever. 8/10

For more folk check out my review of Zach Bryan's The Great American Bar Scene

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