Review: Bon Iver Channels Pristine Hopefulness in SABLE,fABLE
Justin Vernon, by now a legendary fixture in the indie music circuit, is back with what could be the most sonically gorgeous record in his discography.
SABLE, fABLE, Bon Iver’s fifth studio album, in its entirety evokes a more blatant hopefulness in each of its tracks when compared to his previous records.
The latest LP feels more like an embrace of new beginnings through the folk guitar melodies fused with his esoteric electronic production from his last projects such as For Emma Forever Ago, Bon, Iver, Bon Iver and 22, A Million.
The record also has more evident R&B, soul, and gospel influences, especially with the features from Dijon, Danielle Haim from HAIM, Jacob Collier and Mk.gee. The staple of the alternative music scene stirred expectations of a new record after he dropped the SABLE EP last year, which makes up the first four tracks of the album.
The two disc affair is made up of the aforementioned SABLE, a collection of tracks tackling fear, depression, solitude and atonement, and FABLE, a more lush group of songs on beauty, clarity, and healing, according to the Bon Iver bandcamp page.
Prior to its release, the project was dubbed as a “love story set to lush, radiant pop music,” which a slight departure from his genesis of raw folk singer-songwriter storytelling.
“There’s an understanding that even when you’ve reached a new chapter, you’ll always find yourself back in your own foundational muck,” according to the album description on bandcamp.
"But there’s a reason SABLE, is of a piece with fABLE; even after you put in the work, the shadow still rears its head from time to time."
The opener "THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS" starts out with a beautifully plucked acoustic guitar with reverb and delay sprinkled on top of it to accompany Vernon’s effervescent balladry on his musings about uncertainty, anxiety and introspection.
"SPEYSIDE" follows it with a clear reclamation of Vernon's acoustic stylings from his debut record, cultivating a raw atmosphere of pure melancholy linked to past relationships. The track also evokes a sense of regret for failing to be empathetic enough and the impending flame dying out between the two. The line "Nothing's really something now the whole thing's soot" encapsulates this theme.
Throughout the project, Vernon’s trademark falsetto delivery remains a mainstay as his distinct medium to deliver emotions and melodies on how he’s dealing with the constant change in the ebb and flow of living.
The yearning and urgency to keep the flame in a burgeoning new love and intimacy are perfectly captured in the jubilant "Walk Home." As the title suggests, it also works as a poetically appropriate song for melodramatic walks home as you are wrapped in snappy Lo-Fi drums and silky smooth piano chords, another staple in Vernon's previous records.
"Everything is Peaceful Love" plays out like an amalgamation of the folk, art pop, and alternative pop ideas in his discography, which is presented in a very lush manner. Vernon tells a story of overthinking and worrying about first encounters with people, who are bound to change one day.
"And how am I to know that someday you might change the road?" the indie folk pioneer croons on the track.
"Day One," his collaboration with R&B artist Dijon and Flock of Dimes, shows Vernon’s mastery of harmonies and crescendos as he flexes his versatility in this gorgeous R&B inspired pop track. His proclivity to occasionally distort and augment his vocals and percussion within the track also adds variation to the otherwise clean pop song.
Bon Iver also sees a collaboration with American rock band HAIM's Danielle Haim, who offers a contrasting sultry vocal performance against Vernon's consistent falsetto usage throughout the album. The silky synth keys, electronic drums, and an occasional lead guitar lick carries the track's pristine instrumentation. Haim also lent her voice for subtle vocal lines in "Day One."
SABLE, fABLE aptly closes out with the serene instrumental track Au Revoir, which leaves a sense of hopefullness and melancholy trailing as the 41-minute LP resolves.
This Bon Iver record elevates and expands Vernon's repertoire and paints a picture of candor and earnestness in conveying essential human experiences.
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Vernon co-headlined the Wanderland Music and Arts Festival in 2016, which also featured fellow indie legend Death Cab for Cutie.
He mainly performed tracks from his debut heartwrenching LP For Emma Forever Ago, and the highly-anticipated self-titled follow-up Bon Iver, Bon Iver. His set consisted of his creative use of autotune, synths, keyboards, and his raw guitar and vocal work where he arguably performs his best work.
The gloomy and emotionally charged "Blindsided," "Skinny Love," "Flume," "The Wolves (Act 1 and II)" were part of his tracklist from his debut record that saw his rise to critical acclaim and recognition, especially in the indie music space. "Roslyn," the melancholic ballad which he wrote with St. Vincent for the second Twilight movie, was also in his setlist.
“We are so very far from home, and yet, we feel so very at home," Vernon told the Manila crowd back in 2016.
"For Emma For Forever Ago" (2007) was recorded by Vernon himself for the Bon Iver solo project using run-down second hand instruments and equipment in a log cabin in his hometown of Raleigh, North Carolina.
The project’s backdrop is anchored on the breakups the artist had just gone through both in the romantic and artistic sense, which shows in the pain he conveys in the tracklist.
A year before his breakout debut album, Vernon had it rough after he broke up with his girlfriend and his band. He also battled mononucleosis.
SABLE, fABLE may be kicking off a new thematic era for the Bon Iver project that keeps the intimate artistry of his debut record, while introducing a greater openness for the upbeat nature and accessibility of pop music.
