February is coming—get your sad albums ready. The newfangled Genius function on your iTunes knows it, and while you aren't looking, it will arrange the most heart-wrenching compilation its robot "heart"—probably a wrench—can wrangle. I suggest that you beat Genius to the punch and listen exclusively to Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago."
There are so many reasons to listen to "For Emma, Forever Ago." As I already mentioned, now is the season. With a name like Bon Iver—an English version of the French phrase "good winter"—it only makes sense. Aside from the literal translation, Bon Iver's "For Emma" manages to capture the essence of winter. It is at times cold, sparse, and dark, and at others, refreshing, playful, and simple. It is, above all, subtle. Like a large lump of snow parked on the side of the road, "For Emma" doesn't show you everything, but you know what is underneath.
What lie underneath the snow of vague lyrics and floating harmonies are songs about love, another reason to listen now. I am usually skeptical of all things overly romantic, or overly anything for that matter, but "For Emma" isn't all sappy love songs, and it isn't all salty cynicism. It has its moments of both, but they exist in perfect balance. Too many albums about love fall into these traps. But Bon Iver has escaped cliché and has made a love album about the good and the bad, which makes this record just good.
No matter how multi-faceted and complex an album's concept of love is, it can get old if the necessary steps aren't taken. Step 1: Make your melodies catchy—catchy enough to sing for someone you don't intend to kiss. The love song is a powerful seduction tool, just ask birds or John Mayer, but if it sounds like a love song and is about love it becomes cliché. You will find yourself singing the melodies of "For Emma" as if they were folk staples, tunes that existed long before you were born. Step 2: Make it messy. Pristine and polished sounds insincere and robotic. Bon Iver's frontman Justin Vernon sells his love songs with the grit and presence of his raspy voice. The guitar is played at a distance from the microphones and sounds as if Bon Iver were in the corner of your room. It's slightly out of tune, yet it's inoffensive and even inviting. All of these three aspects of Vernon's performance remind us of the sincerity of his love.
This (love) album is a success because it picks a few ideas and plays them out in lots of different ways. The songs are different but are all related in their sweet, sing-able melodies and their gritty guitar sound. "Skinny Love"—an Internet hit—is the perfect example of a melody saving a love song from itself. In this song Vernon sings his own version of the blues. His flailing and pained voice is both intimate and entrancing. "Lump Sum" boasts one of the greatest intros I have ever heard and is just plain stunning. Bon Iver is so good you'll wish February had more days, and one less "r." Bon weekend.
One more thing. Try as I might, I can only bring you the good tidings of my musical findings but once every two weeks. If you are the one person reading this column, then I will let you in on a secret: For more constant musical updates and cool finds, check out www.animalshow.wordpress.com. It's a hip, new, and informed mp3 blog written by Bowdoin's own Edward Gottfried '11 and David Yee '09. I like it, you will as well.