Album Rating: 2.0

That's perhaps the only moment and it's uncovered only through cherry-picking, not what I would call a mountain of evidence. The lyrical missteps are much more evident on i,i , really don't see how one can think otherwise. 'Lmao'

Album Rating: 2.0

In fairness, however, let's go off the assumption that 'For Emma' is just as lyrically zany as Justin's later work. Then what's left is how exactly those lines are delivered to the audience. Within 'For Emma,' there is a vulnerable vocal performance that conveys a range of emotion, going from beautiful, soft high notes and powerful declarations ("Skinny Love" the chief example). On the flipside, 'i,i' is so thoroughly drenched in autotune and Vernon leans so hard on his falsetto otherwise that any emotional payoff is lost; it is either buried by excessive technical elements or so nebulous that it drifts far off away from the listener.



There are phrases that obviously could work on 'i,i' but there is no more personality to back them.

Album Rating: 4.8

yea took me a lot of cherrypicking to uncover that lyrical passage one minute and 30 seconds into the album. there are most assuredly other moments but I can't even be bothered demonstrating that to you - one of Bon Iver's defining traits is cryptic symbolism that makes no sense looked at as lyrics but is elevated through form by his delivery of those words and the music that surrounds them. it's been that way since the beginning, really don't see how one can think otherwise



...also there's like no autotune on i,i at all, maybe one example off the top of my head. not what I would call thoroughly drenched by any stretch of the imagination and/or english language

Album Rating: 2.0

And in that regard the music and delivery surrounding the lyrics is lacking, partially due to the fact the album's songs are so restricted in length that they're not able to explore much. Very little of substance ties them down and they're over before expanding on what could be compelling ideas.

Album Rating: 3.5

"The lyrical missteps are much more evident on i,i" -- I don't think he's making an argument that Flume is a lyrical mistep, just that the new album is no more "gibberish" (or cryptic) than most all his lyrics since For Emma: Lump Sum ("sold my cold knot, a heavy stone / sold my red horse for a venture home / to vanish on a bow"); Wash ("bet is hardly shown / scraped across the foam / like they stole it / and oh, how they hold it"); Comrade, if we're just considering that "era" of Vernon in general ("the honey bin the bunny's in / is telling you there's a countdown / damn your eyes").

Vernon's always been intentionally obscure and imagistic with his lyrics. They're very good. If anything, the new album's the least cryptic in terms of its words. Still has that Vernon fingerprint, but is exceptionally clear at times: "So what of this release? / Some life feels good now, don't it? / Don't have to have a leaving plan / Nothing's gonna ease your mind / Well, it's all fine and we're all fine anyway"

Album Rating: 2.0

I'd rather take a more cryptic Bon Iver than the plain phrases written there or the ones that quite simply fail before they even arrive. They either embody the same issues that could potentially be seen in prior releases but without the same direction, or they are so vapid in their content that their application is hardly resonate.

Album Rating: 3.5

Hm. I dunno, I might've misinterpreted; I thought the argument was that there was a lyrical zaniness / """crypticism""" (?) that wasn't present in earlier Bon Iver. I don't think there was a time when Vernon didn't write like this -- the example I gave from this album is just to show that there's an occassional attempt by Vernon to be more coherent here than he ever has been, that works with (or perhaps undercuts) the less obvious lines. Also -- and again, I might be misinterpreting -- but if something's failed before arrival, perhaps less attention's been given than is deserved.

There's totally nothing wrong with disliking the lyrics, just unclear what exactly you believe to be the issue. Am legitimately interested.

i appreciate meme lines like I'M HAVING A BAD, BAD TOKE
i like that he doesn't take himself too seriously

Album Rating: 2.0

It is both the unknown aspect (the earlier 'peaches' line... that's just poor) and the straightforward, no-personality writings that plague 'i,i'. Anything that may be deemed equally cryptic on 'Emma' can be interpreted much easier when viewed in context whereas 'i,i' is either too bland in both lyric and delivery that it cannot succeed, or it's nonsense. Even '22' had more coherency as far as I can tell.

Album Rating: 3.0

Checking the new one now

Album Rating: 3.5

What don't you like about the peach line? And what do you consider "no personality writings"? Also, I think a lot of random images were kinda just thrown out there on 22 -- there are also a lot of words he just made up.

Album Rating: 2.0

Considering I don't care for '22' much I certainly won't sing much praise for it.



And I'd say 'no personality' because many of the writings on 'i,i' lack the penmanship Justin had displayed on prior efforts. There's little to unpack, and his delivery rarely contains the same passion it once had, be it due to excessive layering of falsetto or electronic elements.



The 'peach' line is just such an odd series of phrases. They're not funny, they sound awkward and included almost solely so the rhyming scheme can occur--something a middle schooler might do in poetry class.

Album Rating: 3.5

If we're gonna speak context and intention, it's worth noting that a good part of the song (in particular, the beginning) deals with childhood -- and that "beach" and "peach" are highlighted with ridiculous fonts in the lyric video, which is itself overly colourful and doodle-like. Song's whimsy is without a doubt its charm, especially when it starts off with a line about fear of dying.

"excessive layering of falsetto or electronic elements" -- fair enough about the electronic elements, if you think they obscure him too much or something, but again, For Emma did far more of the falsetto-layering. Honestly, it was the first album I ever heard do that and it's part of what made that album so special IMO: it made his vocals sound kinda cold, which contrasted super well with his falsetto. It's used to different effect here, definitely, but it's not stylistically unique at all when we look at his catalogue.

Album Rating: 2.0

Perhaps not as stylistically unique, but it starts to go overboard at multiple portions here.

Album Rating: 3.5

Any specific examples?

Album Rating: 2.0

The entirety of "iMi" most certainly, the ending of "Holyfields" where it sounds like he's yelping at times, chorus of "U Man Like," backing elements on "Faith," majority of "Marion" and "Salem," as well as "Sh'Diah."



And every continuous re-listen is once again hampered by the fact that so many of these songs are so empty and endure for such a small amount of time that they aren't memorable at all. The highlights (ex. "Naeem" 's crescendo) are possible because Justin gives the track time to blossom rather than keeping it so short. For a 13 track album, this came and went like a light breeze.

Album Rating: 3.0

Lmao retards

yeah honestly i can't remember what most of the new album sounds like. it's all aesthetic, he forgot to write actual songs

Album Rating: 3.0

Yeah, I understand the vibe he’s going for with this newer stuff (nostalgia rendered through impressionistic, linear songwriting and stream-of-consciousness lyricism) but the songs rarely have the intended impact for me.

Album Rating: 4.0

God damn this album is beautiful. Great blend of older organic elements with new electronic-based textures and tinkering. And as someone else mentioned, essentially no autotune. Easily a step above 22A and almost on par with BI,BI