22, A Million
IN A NUTSHELL:
Recommended for:
Indie folk music fans
People who feel emotions
Rainy days
Average Rating: 8.1/10
Pros:
SONGWRITING!!!!
Unique production for a folk album
Many much artsy
Cons:
Extremely quick album, some songs might've been cut too short
22, A Million is the third studio album from American folk-indie band Bon Iver. The band was founded by Justin Vernon in 2007 in Wisconsin. The band name was derived from the french phrase "bon hiver", meaning "good winter".
Photo by: Helena Price
M∑L0DY MάƘ∑Ȑ:
Bon Iver fans heed the warning – Justin Vernon has gone folktronica. 22, A Million is a drastic change in direction from Bon Iver’s last album. Vernon relies on glitchy production, samples, and computer programming to compose the majority of the album, and the result is something beautiful.
Despite 22, A Million being the first album from Bon Iver in 5 years, the length of this album is only 34 minutes. In fact, the majority of the songs on here are less than 4 minutes. This is good and bad. The brevity of the songs give them a great deal of power. No songs overstay their welcome or have any filler in them. They start, give you an intense amount of feels, and end. Some songs like “22 (Over Soon)” or “715” can feel like they end too prematurely, which some people may not enjoy. However, I enjoy this sort of sense of incompletion, especially under the context of this jaggedly flowing album.
Another thing this album does good: Songwriting. Songs like “22 (Over Soon),” “8 (circle),” and especially “29 #Strafford Apts” are completely gorgeous. As beautiful as these songs are, they are still simple and easy to listen to. Each song is filled up with powerful soul and emotion. It takes a mighty cold-hearted person to feel nothing listening to any of these songs.
22, A Million is a wonderfully strange yet emotional trip. If you’re a Bon Iver fan looking for something sounding closer to the rest of their discography, you may be a little thrown off, but if you embrace this album with an open mind and heart, you will be pleasantly surprised. Or, you won’t like it, I probably don’t know you so I don’t know. But, you won’t know if you like it or not for sure until you listen to it, so you should do that. It’s only 34 minutes so you don’t have any excuses. Do it. It’s really good.
Favorite songz: “29 #Strafford Apts,” “22 (Over Soon)”
8.9/10
Photo by: peta_azak
____M@G1C__F1NG3RZ____
This was a delightful listen. Bam, everything you need to know in the first sentence.
But wait there’s more…
I had been hearing about this release for awhile and was exciting when our pal Luke suggested it as our next review. Like many people I was aware of Bon Iver, and knew the hit tracks like “Skinny Love”, but hadn't delved too deeply into their catalogue. This was a mistake I must admit, I have since come to see the obvious truth that Justin Vernon is a beautiful songwriter.
The songwriting on this new album especially, is exceptional. The lyrics are emotional, personal and deep. The melodies are relaxing, stirring and heart wrenching all the same time.
So many artists these days try to add an electronic aspect to their music, and so many artists fail and end up sounding like cheap pop music. THIS IS NOT THE CASE WITH BON IVER. The synths, distorted vocals, layered vocals, arpeggiators, and ambience effects all flow wondrously and uniquely with the song structures. This album is a brief arsenal of extremely creative sounds and forms and I highly recommend it to all.
Favorite Song: “____45___”
8.1/10
Mom :
Bon Iver is an interesting artist. The guy who started out with a simple folk sound from the Wisconsin wilderness, went a little artsy.
Bon Iver initially gained much notoriety for the sincerity and simplicity of his music. Though I believe his sincerity is still well intact, any simplicity has disappeared. His newest album uses many unorthodox production techniques that are scarcely seen in the acoustic-folk genre. Though I did not intend this review to be a rant about pop music at large, I cannot help myself.
The beauty of modern pop music is that any element (traditional or nontraditional), can be used within music. In saying that, I mean that any sounds can be put on a track, it just must be done so, tastefully. This album is a prime example of that. This album uses a lot of pitch effected vocals. Generally, I am quite bothered by vocalists changing the pitch of their vocal tracks, however Bon Iver does so tastefully. All in all, the album is not incredibly accessible, but artsy, and tasteful.
Favorite Track: 33 ‘GOD’
7.4 / 10
Check out Bon Iver's website for tour info, merchandise and to buy this freakin album:
Next Album: "High Anxiety"
By: Thom Sonny Green
Our team is comprised of some semi-normal, occasionally funny people who love to listen to and talk about music. And like many of you, we constantly find ourselves hungry to discover new music.