More than five years have passed since Bon Iver’s last album, “i, i” was released, so it’s fitting that the opening of this new indie folk EP, “SABLE,” arrives like a siren, warning the listener of some intensity ahead.
The pitter-patter of the percussion on the first full track, “Things Behind Things Behind Things” precedes a high-pitched cascade of minor-key finger picking. Then frontman Justin Vernon’s natural baritone follows with a restless announcement, “I would like the feeling / I would like the feeling / I would like the feeling / Gone.”
Emotions and reflections around nature, nostalgia, relationships and religion have long lived at the heart of Bon Iver — first heard on 2007’s debut album, “For Emma Forever Ago,” recorded in his father’s hunting cabin in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin. Much has changed since then, but for all the Grammy nominations, world tours and features with a wide variety of stars from Bruce Springsteen to Taylor Swift, Vernon has never felt comfortable with his fame or the accompanying pressure to fulfill a certain persona he has experienced.
That’s evident on “SABLE,” made up of a droning intro and just three complete songs. Vernon has only released a handful of singles and collaborations since his fourth album — the complex and experimental “i,i” — was released in 2019. The reason: According to a press release, he had some soul-searching to do about whether he wanted to continue his career and, if so, what it would look like.
“I get caught looking in the mirror on the regular / What I see there resembles some competitor,” Vernon laments in the opener, a song written during the pandemic. There’s anguish in the crescendo as he sings about a fear of change, then a more hopeful tone as the music softly winds down into the second track, “S P E Y S I D E.”
The opening line, “I know now that I can’t make good / How I wish I could go back and put me where you stood,” sets the stage for a guilt-driven plea for forgiveness. Vernon is briefly joined by violist Rob Moose, but it is otherwise a back-to-basics man-and-guitar sound that would’ve fit well on his debut album. There’s none of the falsetto that set apart “For Emma Forever Ago,” but the music and word mesh well as a chilling expression of an attempt to restore something.
The only problem is it doesn’t keep going. The final song, “Awards Season,” is more poem than melody. Saxophonist Michael Lewis chimes in, but there’s a lack of the sonic richness that has defined Bon Iver’s music. For Vernon, the reset is surely complete. For everyone else, hopefully there’s more to come. “SABLE” will undoubtedly leave Bon Iver fans wanting more.
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