Member-only story
i,i
Indianapolis, IN — It’s raining and Bon Iver is playing. Around me, people are off their seats, but they’re not rushing the stage. You don’t do that when Bon Iver plays. You stand in the rain and let the music wash over you. Above us, thunder rumbles. Vernon looks up and chuckles: “It’s just moon water”.
There are very few artists I listen to religiously, and Bon Iver tops a list of three. I took my time listening to i,i. I didn’t want to rush it. I waited till it rained.
When the new album was announced, it became apparent that Bon Iver had been planning this for the better part of a decade. For Emma was released in winter, Bon Iver in spring, 22, A Million in summer. It’s almost fall and i,i is out.
But what does it mean? How does it hold up as an album? Is it, to borrow that term critics are so fond of, any good?
It means a lot. It’s a kicker of an album. It’s very good. But you shouldn’t listen to it unless you’ve listened to the other three.
i,i is not so much an album as it is the end to a story that took twelve years to write. In those twelve years, Bon Iver explored the many different ways stories can be told. They experimented with sound and form, they collaborated with artists to create an audio software that gave Vernon’s voice that haunting quality, they recruited Tim Carlson to give form to madness. But through it all…
