by Amileah Sutliff & Andrew Winistorfer
Yesterday was the first day of Eaux Claires, the second edition of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver's music festival in the woods outside of his hometown, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He played a set last night, and he did something pretty special: He played the entirety of his new album, 22, A Million. The album is due out on Sept 30 via Jagjaguwar, and like you, we're unbelievably hyped about it. You can hear two songs from the album below.
Our editorial intern, Amileah Sutliff, is at Eaux Claires this weekend, and here's what she said about seeing the album performed live:
The five years off since Bon Iver, Bon Iver have found Vernon swapping much of his folk-y strums for samples and synths; it’s clear that this work was heavily-influenced and perfected by his role as a producer as much as a songwriter. This isn’t to say he ditched everything for engineered noises: his live band churned out of some the most mind-numbing horn parts and orchestral string backups I’ve ever seen live, and there were still those familiar moments of stripped-down hums that backed crushing falsetto.
Sitting on the stage, adorned in headphones and surrounded by talent, Vernon proved he was moving forward but taking with him the parts of his sound that have the sonic ability to turn people into mere puddles. The most recent tension and release of sheer awe Vernon has mastered was chilling to see live, and I’m counting down the days until I can hear its studio form.
There was also an embarrassment of riches in Bon Iver info released last night:
Here's 22, A Million's tracklist:
"22 (OVER S∞∞N)"
Amileah Sutliff is a New York-based writer, editor and creative producer and an editor of the book The Best Record Stores in the United States.