June 3, 2019 - Jagjaguwar
Over the years, Bon Iver has carved out of the Indie Pop genre a space for what I call Highly Attractive Music. I find their body of work so soul-wrenchingly addictive that I can’t say anything bad about it. I listen to it with a comfortable obsession. Bon Iver supplies the masses with a magical sparkling pool of introspective indulgence. But, like the proverbial healing springs of folklore, the water is not life-changing because it reflects the emotional truths I already know rather than showing me something new. There’s familiarity even in the most exotic, remotest pool. We all started in the water of a womb. We all know what it feels like.
Bon Iver’s two new singles ‘Hey Ma’ and ‘U (Man Like)’ fit appropriately into the progression Justin Vernon started back in my teens, offering a more mature, more pared down, more collaborative and higher-production bittersweet to the landscape. The musicality is nothing new, with its appeal to a feeling and roots in the spiritual music tradition. Vernon has, however, amassed a notable collection of collaborators on ‘U (Man Like)’—Bruce Hornsby, Jenn Wasner (Wye Oak, Flock of Dimes), Moses Sumney, Bryce Dessner (The National) and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. 1
The lyrics on both tracks are Poetry with a capital “P.” While things of beauty, I find the words too abstract to connect to save for a few short glimpses of potent imagery that remind me of my childhood. Or words with anthemic swells that clearly indicate I should feel uplifted. I do love the wordplay in the chorus of ‘Hey Ma’ though, especially the line, “full time, you talk your money up, while it’s living in a coal mine.” That phrase pushes just the right buttons to get me on board even if I can’t tell where the train is headed.
All told, I am happy Bon Iver is back in action with a new album release on the horizon. My IV is almost dry, and I need that sweet medicine. (And I am a sucker for the Grammy bait.)
1 Hughes, H. (2019, June 3). Bon Iver Drops New Songs 'Hey, Ma' and 'U (Man Like)'. Retrieved from https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop/8514094/bon-iver-hey-ma-u-man-like ☔