Bon Iver - 22, A Millon (New Album)

JaMarcusHustle

Gets released 30 September as announced by the band on Facebook. I'm super excited

seachto7

Not gone on what I heard so far but will give it a chance...

Gonzovision

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C5sB6AqJkM

mosstin

Been listening to this a lot over the past few days and it doesn't work for me at all at this stage. His obsession with auto-tune is becoming ridiculous and, for me, takes away greatly from his writing and his voice. Wish he'd never met Kanye. :mad:

Gonzovision

Ok, it's definitely started to grow on me. I felt pretty ambivalent to it over the first few listens, but the more I listen to it, the better it gets. Always a good sign for longevity I suppose.

lordgoat

mosstin wrote: »

Been listening to this a lot over the past few days and it doesn't work for me at all at this stage. His obsession with auto-tune is becoming ridiculous and, for me, takes away greatly from his writing and his voice. Wish he'd never met Kanye. :mad:

Autotune was there since For Emma, long before Kanye. Granted he uses it more since then.

I love the songs i've heard and am delighted he's not making For Emma's over and over. But hey one man's trash is another man's come up...

mosstin

lordgoat wrote: »

Autotune was there since For Emma, long before Kanye. Granted he uses it more since then.

I love the songs i've heard and am delighted he's not making For Emma's over and over. But hey one man's trash is another man's come up...

More? It's wall to wall autotune at times.

lordgoat

mosstin wrote: »

More? It's wall to wall autotune at times.

TBH that doesn't phase me.

How does it sound?
What is being said, how is it being said?
Does it move me?

I dislike reggae/jazz - esp free jazz and the eagles. But they have their markets and i'm not a member.

Basically it's ok to not like it, but don't blame the instrument/method.

If the songs didn't have autotune/voice sampling would they sound any better?

mosstin

lordgoat wrote: »

TBH that doesn't phase me.

How does it sound?
What is being said, how is it being said?
Does it move me?

I dislike reggae/jazz - esp free jazz and the eagles. But they have their markets and i'm not a member.

Basically it's ok to not like it, but don't blame the instrument/method.

If the songs didn't have autotune/voice sampling would they sound any better?

Bothers me to be honest. I love his voice, his lyrics and there are some really beautiful songs on this album but for me much of the beauty of Bon Iver lies in the rawness. This just sounds over-produced and overcooked at times.

lordgoat

mosstin wrote: »

Bothers me to be honest. I love his voice, his lyrics and there are some really beautiful songs on this album but for me much of the beauty of Bon Iver lies in the rawness. This just sounds over-produced and overcooked at times.

I get where you're coming from but I think every album is less and less raw/sparse. There's loads going on. I am enjoying the journey this band are taking us on and I can't wait to see them live and see/hear what they do to the songs between album launch and tour. It'll be fun.

mosstin

lordgoat wrote: »

I get where you're coming from but I think every album is less and less raw/sparse. There's loads going on. I am enjoying the journey this band are taking us on and I can't wait to see them live and see/hear what they do to the songs between album launch and tour. It'll be fun.

Didn't see any Irish date announced on their European tour. Surprised if that remains the case.

Gonzovision

Got tickets for Edinburgh myself..... If it;s as good as 2012 I'll be more than happy!

mystic86

Still waiting on a version that doesn't have Facebook notification sounds etc. in it

Battleflag

Listened to the album today. Some great songs on it but there are some bizarre songs also with heavy auto tune. Will give a few more listens before make up mind. Got tickets for Edinburgh too, cant wait! Playhouse isn't too big either which should make it more intimate

mosstin

Just bought tickets to the Paris show, first one of the European tour. Been listening to it a lot - there are some gorgeous moments on it but, equally, some of it just grates. That said, I think the live shows will be spectacular.

phatkev

first thoughts are its unreal, enjoying it so much! I'd love to be getting to one of the european dates, but it wont be happening this year unfortunately

phatkev

mosstin wrote: »

Been listening to this a lot over the past few days and it doesn't work for me at all at this stage. His obsession with auto-tune is becoming ridiculous and, for me, takes away greatly from his writing and his voice. Wish he'd never met Kanye. :mad:

Im late to the the party here but, I have so much respect for the fact that they just make the record they wanted to, would've been disappointing if it was a continuation to be honest. Saying that it still very much feels like the same band to me just an evolved version, which the best groups do. Some good

LuckyLloyd

I just flat out disagree with making a record sound such a way that you are left double checking whether your headphones are at fault. And I'm fairly tolerant of experimentation.

That said, this is still a masterpiece on the whole. There is a wonderful depth and complexity throughout.

Basq

Wasn't sure of it at first (vocoder overload), but absolutely adore it now!

Best album I've heard this year!

NapoleonInRags

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

I just flat out disagree with making a record sound such a way that you are left double checking whether your headphones are at fault. And I'm fairly tolerant of experimentation.

That said, this is still a masterpiece on the whole. There is a wonderful depth and complexity throughout.

I kinda know what you mean...but it reminds me a bit of buying 'Loveless' on vinyl in 1992 and thinking it was warped the first time I played it.

Arghus

Still not knowing what to make of this album.

After the first few listens I couldn't get past some of the intentionally off putting elements: the glitchy effects, vocoder and weirdly atonal tangents some of the tunes wander off in.

After a few more listens I began to take in how good the melodies and harmonies were, and how there was a lot of carefully constructed soundscaping going on throughout.

Now, I've reached a stage where I know the tunes and appreciate them but they've stopped surprising me, to an extent. Maybe, I'm pinning to much hope on this record, but, from talking to people and reading about it, the consensus seems to be that once you get over that difficult period there's a depth to it. To be honest: I'm still looking.

I think a lot of comes down to my own issues with Bon Iver: For all the beauty and majesty of his music, it often leaves me unsatisfied. I feel like his songs are about nothing. Or, if not quite that vacant, at least to be so oblique lyrically that they may as well be. Of course, there's plenty of great music out there that means essentially nothing other than what you make of it, and obviously the guy has got musical talent and vision, so I would never say he's bad or useless. What leaves me feeling a bit bereft, despite all those good things, is that I feel he's always trying to get a message across with his songs - there always seems to be something conceptual behind the lyrics of each song or feel of an album, the vocals are always delivered with emotion, like they are crucial component of what he's about - but I feel the substance isn't there. I think, egotistically putting myself in another man's shoes, that he wants the music to be perceived as earth shattering and meaningful, but he hides behind obscurity and slightly gimmicky sounds. And then we fill in the blanks.

mosstin

Arghus wrote: »

Still not knowing what to make of this album.

After the first few listens I couldn't get past some of the intentionally off putting elements: the glitchy effects, vocoder and weirdly atonal tangents some of the tunes wander off in.

After a few more listens I began to take in how good the melodies and harmonies were, and how there was a lot of carefully constructed soundscaping going on throughout.

Now, I've reached a stage where I know the tunes and appreciate them but they've stopped surprising me, to an extent. Maybe, I'm pinning to much hope on this record, but, from talking to people and reading about it, the consensus seems to be that once you get over that difficult period there's a depth to it. To be honest: I'm still looking.

I think a lot of comes down to my own issues with Bon Iver: For all the beauty and majesty of his music, it often leaves me unsatisfied. I feel like his songs are about nothing. Or, if not quite that vacant, at least to be so oblique lyrically that they may as well be. Of course, there's plenty of great music out there that means essentially nothing other than what you make of it, and obviously the guy has got musical talent and vision, so I would never say he's bad or useless. What leaves me feeling a bit bereft, despite all those good things, is that I feel he's always trying to get a message across with his songs - there always seems to be something conceptual behind the lyrics of each song or feel of an album, the vocals are always delivered with emotion, like they are crucial component of what he's about - but I feel the substance isn't there. I think, egotistically putting myself in another man's shoes, that he wants the music to be perceived as earth shattering and meaningful, but he hides behind obscurity and slightly gimmicky sounds. And then we fill in the blanks.

I think that's woefully wide of the mark. To me, he actually does give the impression of one of those rare artists whose music comes from the heart and how it's perceived is neither here nor there.
I've listened to it for over a month now and there are some breathtaking moments on it - 8 (circle), 00000 Million, 22 (Over Soon), 33 God and 29 #Strafford are all glorious - but, equally, contains several other tracks which just irritate me.
Its received gushing praise - he always does - but, to my ears, it's as frustrating as it is jaw-dropping.

Brock Turnpike

On my second listen of the album. The over indulgence of Autotune in the early part of the album is quite grating. Definitely gone overboard with it.

However, the more you get into the album, the more beautiful it becomes. That run of the final three songs - 8 (Circle) to 00000 Million - is stunning.

I can see this album coming across even better during the live shows. That whole 'wall of sound' feel they had during the last live tour was phenomenal and I could see it carrying these songs over superbly on the new tour.

I'm still fascinated by his lyrics. They are written in a way that suggests English isn't his first language, but I'm not saying that's a bad thing.

Arghus

mosstin wrote: »

I think that's woefully wide of the mark. To me, he actually does give the impression of one of those rare artists whose music comes from the heart and how it's perceived is neither here nor there.
I've listened to it for over a month now and there are some breathtaking moments on it - 8 (circle), 00000 Million, 22 (Over Soon), 33 God and 29 #Strafford are all glorious - but, equally, contains several other tracks which just irritate me.
Its received gushing praise - he always does - but, to my ears, it's as frustrating as it is jaw-dropping.

I don't think I'm "woefully" wide of the mark there - it is my personal and subjective view on Bon Iver.

Also, I actually think that we are partially in agreement: I have the same view of the album as yourself, and we both seem to think that the ultimate meaning behind Bon Iver's music, in terms of what the songs actually mean for the listener, is very much an issue of perception and isn't all that objective. I agree. But, I think we differ on whether we think this is a strength or a weakness.

You seem to think that this is sign of the unfiltered artistic heart of the man and that what we the listeners think is somewhat secondary and after the fact? Of course, I could be wrong, by putting those exact words in your mouth, but that's what I take away from what you had to say on the matter.

I think that, considering he's putting music out there for people to hear - it isn't just music he's making for his own amusement - and that there seems to be some sort of underlying concept behind a lot of what he's doing on the record, and the pains he's gone to in interviews to attempt to spell out some of the ideas underpinning the songs - Considering all that, I find it hard to believe that he would be quite so laissez faire about how people interpret the meaning of his music. I think he want's people to understand it and take meaning from it. However, I just think it shows his essential weakness as a songwriter - particularly as a lyricist - because, to me, some of his lyrics seem needlessly obscure and some of his arrangements far too overdone, bordering on gimmicky.

I think he wants to speak to people and tries to, but his songs, for all their qualities, can't convey something rock solid to the listener, not this one anyway - his intention doesn't match the execution and therefore, for me, his music is both often grandiose and beautiful, but, ultimately, shallow.

buck65

This is a great album, got it at xmas and I haven't listened to anythting else since. A lot going on here.