When we last left Bon Iver, the Justin Vernon fronted act, was riding the wave of success from the critically lauded debut For Emma, Forever Ago. The album, whose tale has been recounted numerous times since its release, stands in the pantheon of great heartbreak records, with its emotionally wrought songs, delivered in Vernon’s achingly beautiful falsetto vocals. With the heaps of praise that were justly thrown onto his debut, the bar was set considerably high for the full-length follow up, with fans wondering if Vernon could produce another strong album without heartbreak as inspiration.
While some eagle-eyed fans got an early taste of Bon Iver’s self-titled sophomore album thanks in part to an inadvertent leak by iTunes last month, the wait is finally over for everyone else as the record gets its official release today via Jagjaguwar. The 10-track effort is rife with Vernon’s instantly recognizable vocals and takes the sparse spooky sounds from his debut and beefs them up, thanks in part to contributions from his touring band, full horn and string sections, and maybe some tricks he borrowed from collaborating with Kanye West. Let’s check out the video for the album’s first single – Calgary…
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Bon Iver will kick off a lengthy world tour with a hometown gig at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, WI on July 22.
