An album high on my priority list came out 3 weeks early. So, I decided to write down my first impressions for your enjoyment. Or maybe you’re indifferent; that’s okay too.
Anyway, here goes!
Yi: Is this thing on?
iMi: One line in this song proclaims “I can’t ignore it anymore.” I can’t ignore how cohesive this stack of sounds that teeters at the edge of cacophony comes together.
We: It’s been said that Bon Iver makes autumnal music. “We” could be that. But it feels like contemplative night music. Polyenso fans would love this.
Holyfields,: Okay, I’m getting the sense that this album is supposed to take place inside someone’s mind, switching from song to song like an older television navigating static. This song feels like I’m watching an artsy program on a channel with a weak signal, with effects cutting in and out. This feels like the sequel to “Hinnom, TX.”
Hey, Ma: We are teetering on synthwave here. I want to play this in surround sound. That might be a weird flex for this album, but whatever.
U (Man Like): This song took me back to being 7 years old and listening to my dad play “Clair de Lune” on our black upright piano. Nostalgic and transcendent. The vocals feel almost theatrical.
Naeem: Did he just say “the concrete’s very slow” or is that my messed up hearing at work? I feel like I’m standing at the far end of a very long room with many independent painters at work creating abstract pieces, with Bon Iver performing at the opposite end. I gradually walk closer and my mood is colored by the visuals I pass.
Jelmore: A large green fly (I’m no entomologist, sorry) just landed on my empty Graeter’s ice cream cup. The song kinda buzzes at times. It’s late, and I’m tired. Somehow, the mood of the song reflects all this.
Faith: I dig the airy nature of this song: like a nighttime summer breeze on my front porch. Man, I should open a window.
Marion: Every moment on this album feels carefully crafted, but for some reason this characteristic really gets driven home in this song. It makes good use of space.
Salem: Is it weird that this song sounds like it could be played at a wedding? Going completely off of sound here—not getting too deep into the lyrics.
Sh’diah: A majestic song with some unsettling undercuts.
RABi: The song that best exemplifies a middle ground between 22, a Million and Bon Iver, Bon Iver.
