Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago: I Am My Mother's Only One. It's Enough

For Emma, Forever Ago is what happens when a musician (particularly a very talented folk one), recently disbanded and depressed locks himself up in a cabin faraway (Wisconsin) for about four months in winter time and starts writing songs in isolation and solitude (Sean Penn’s Into the Wild right?). Justin Vernon went into series of various hallucinations and nostalgias to create some real sound, what you usually don’t hear in Iron & Wine albums. What truly isolates Vernon a.k.a Bon Iver (which as I remember is a false translation of “good winter” in French) is his almost full-time falsetto job that causes sympathetic waves to shiver and harmonize themselves according to Vernon’s voice when he innocently starts out his story with: “I Am My Mother’s Only One, It’s Enough!” For Emma’s work was finished in 2007 but took a little time to come up and make a Pitchfork review and be critically acclaimed.
Sometimes for getting more info on your desired album over the net, you encounter such weird quotes from such trustworthy sources of data. If you go visit allmusic.com’s page for Bon Iver, you’ll be shocked to take a look at the “Influenced by” session: Flaming Lips and Guided By Voices? Alright in a very shady point of view, you can compare Bon Iver to something like Sparklehorse, but Flaming Lips? Yes, Flaming Lips’ Wayne Coyne sometimes sings in his falsetto but they simply inhabit another galaxy(not particularly Milky Way). So if you’re looking for similarities and influences, look elsewhere. MySpace and Virb are better places I guess.

Download Bon Iver - Flume (3.61 MB)

For Emma, Forever Ago is a nine track mixture of innocent sounds, sometimes reminiscent of 70s rock ‘n roll and pop tunes when on low tempo, about isolation, loneliness and sometimes revenge (“The Wolves Act I and II”) with exactly the same moods Justin Vernon has experienced during his cabin stay. In solitude, loved ones look even more far away, so he gently whispers “Someday my pain, someday my pain will mark you, Harness your blame, harness your blame, and walk through” and then reminds himself of the good old memories and beauties by “Can't you find a clue when your eyes are all painted Sinatra blue, What might have been lost”. Most of what you hear on For Emma, Forever Ago is just what he has done in the cabin but some elements have been added later on in a studio in California, no he could not accomplish a track like “For Emma” all alone in his winter shelter!
Bon Iver on Myspace
Bon Iver on Virb