Bon Iver

Rolling Stone (p.82) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "'Hinnom, TX' sets off brass and static bursts like distant fireworks; 'Minnesota, WI' blends what sounds like banjos with gnarly brass swells and R&B horns..." Rolling Stone (p.70) - Ranked #21 in Rolling Stone's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "Vernon's private world is a soft-rock heaven of the mind." Spin (p.69) - "Once again, he cultivates an enchanted atmosphere, with gorgeous melodies, unique textures, and beautiful singing..." Spin (p.49) - Ranked #14 in Spin's 'The Top 40 Albums Of 2011' -- "[I]magine a nice, cozy room full of ambitious friends boldly molding an inscrutable art-folk masterpiece." Entertainment Weekly (p.73) - "[A]n emboldened Vernon achieves a beautiful fantasy all his own, backed by a full band and buoyed with horns and pedal steel." -- Grade: A- Entertainment Weekly (p.100) - Ranked #4 in Entertainment Weekly's 'The Top 10 Albums Of 2011' -- "[H]is passion for gentle synth jams comes through so clearly, he makes Auto-Tune sound sincere." Uncut (p.34) - Ranked #9 in Uncut's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "BON IVER was ambitious, fanatically detailed, but still warm and poignant..." Alternative Press (p.122) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[B]eautiful and heartrending. It's something far too busy and layered to be labeled as mere indie folk..." Magnet (p.39) - Ranked #13 in Magnet's '20 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "It manages to be both sweeping and widescreen, yet intimate and inviting..." CMJ - "This is the sound of a man awake in the world and reaching outward, and it'll make you want to wrap your arms around the entire human race." Paste (magazine) - "It retains the beautiful melancholy of FOR EMMA, but in nearly every way, it's just more. More layered, more diverse, more interesting." Record Collector (magazine) (p.88) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] glorious celebration of -- and experimentation with -- sound....This is a luxurious record, with Vernon's simple songs filtered and engorged at every turn." Clash (Magazine) - "[W]hile 'Holocene' and 'Calgary', for example, retain the same spectral beauty of the first album, they're multi-dimensional compositions rather than songs."

Part of the beauty of Bon Iver’s debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, was the intimate, backwoods feel of the recording and the simplicity of Justin Vernon's soaring, open wound of a voice with only minimal musical backing to distract from its impact. Even though Vernon had a few other people playing on the album, it was easy to imagine a solitary broken soul spilling his guts onto tape for hours at a time while the world went on without him. It’s was a truly aching, somewhat claustrophobic sound that was beautiful and unique. After a couple years in which his life was basically turned upside down thanks to the success of For Emma, Vernon’s second album is quite different. Where For Emma was stripped down and intimate, Bon Iver is packed with guest musicians, horn sections, strings, and extra vocalists. Within the expanded arrangements, there are still moments of tender beauty and restraint to remind you why Bon Iver is worth caring about. The relatively restrained "Wash.," which pits Vernon’s aching vocal orchestra against a jagged, repeating piano line (and only minimal strings and pedal steel), the first two-thirds of "Holocene," the simple and affecting "Michicant" -- these have hints of the grace and understated emotion that made For Emma what it was. ~ Tim Sendra

ボン・イヴェールことジャスティン・ヴァーノンの傑作が来日記念盤、二枚組となって登場。本作を改めて聴いて感じたのはやはり彼の包み込むような優しく、憂いを含んだ声。その魅力に再び、はっとさせられました。彼の歌はいつも私たちのそばにあって、どんな時も寄り添ってくれるような、儚げだけどどこか芯のある優しさ、包容力、安心感があると思います。そして今作はDISC2にも注目! この5曲。素晴らしい、の一言。ヘッドフォン、または部屋で音量上げて聴くことをおすすめします!
intoxicate (C)金丸沙央里

痛切なファルセット・ヴォイスが描く崇高な美世界で絶賛を浴びた初作『For Emma, Forever Ago』から3年、ボン・イヴェールことジャスティン・ヴァーノンが注目のセカンド・アルバムを上梓した。前作は雪に閉ざされた山小屋で孤独と向き合いながら生み出したシンプルな弾き語り作品だったが、今回はドラムスやホーンが彼の歌を力強くサポートし、グっと逞しいサウンドとなった。まあ、派手さや開放感とは相変わらず無縁なわけだが、雪原を一歩一歩踏みしめながら外界に向けて前進を開始したような、細やかながらも凛とした希望が全編を貫いているのが頼もしい。いまやアントニー・ヘガティと並び、＜闇の底から見つめた一筋の光＞を感動的に描き出す二大巨頭と言っていいんじゃないだろうか。
bounce (C)田中幹也