Bon Iver — i,i (Aug. 30, 2019) 
• Bon Iver? A New Album, Releases Another Pair Of Songs (Aug. 30, 2019)
Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S.
Album release: Aug. 30, 2019
Record Label: Jagjaguwar
Duration:
Tracks:
01. Yi 0:31
02. iMi 3:16
03. We 2:22
04. Holyfields, 3:07
05. Hey, Ma 3:36
06. U (Man Like) 2:25
07. Naeem 4:22
08. Jelmore 2:30
09. Faith 3:37
10. Marion 2:21
11. Salem 3:44
12. Sh’Diah 4:11
13. RABi 3:32
Written by:
• Justin Vernon, Trever Hagen, BJ Burton 1
• Vernon, James Blake, Rob Moose, Brad Cook, Mike Lewis, Mike Noyce 2
• Burton, Jeremy Nutzman, Channy Leaneagh, Wheezy, Josh Berg 3
• Vernon, Wheezy, B. Cook, Phil Cook, Andrew Sarlo 4
• Vernon, Chris Messina, B. Cook, Moose 5
• Vernon, B. Cook, Burton 6
• Vernon, Bruce Hornsby, Naeem Hanks, Messina 7
• Vernon, B. Cook, Burton, Hagen, JT Bates, Noah Goldstein 8
• Vernon, Buddy Ross 9
• Vernon, Camilla Staveley~Taylor, BJ Burton, Francis Starlite 10
• Vernon, Moose 11
• Vernon 12
• Vernon, Sean Carey, Leaneagh, Andrew Broder 13
• Vernon, B. Cook, Lewis 14
★ includes full~color 28 page booklet
Personnel:
Musicians
• Wheezy — drum programming (2), programming (3)
• James Blake — Prophet 600 (2), vocals (2)
• Rob Moose — violin (2, 5, 6, 9), viola (2, 5, 6, 9), fast piano (2), octave viola (6, 9), string arrangement (5, 6, 9), Worm Crew arrangement (2, 5, 6, 9), conducting (5, 9)
• Worm Crew — horns (2, 5, 6, 9)
• Mike Noyce — vocals (2)
• Jeremy Nutzman a.k.a. Velvet Negroni — vocals (2)
• Camilla Staveley~Taylor — vocals (2), distorted vocals (9)
• Trever Hagen — slides (2), prepared trumpet f. (8)
• Aaron Dessner — piano (2), guitar (2)
• BJ Burton — programming (2), arrangement (2), TR 8’s (9)
• Buddy Ross — synthesizer (2, 5, 9), Messina (8), piano (9)
• Joe Rainey, Sr. — vocals (3)
• Michael Migizi Sullivan, Sr. — vocals (3)
• Phil Cook — piano (3, 6), B3 (6), voice (6)
• Zach Hanson — piano (3), keyboards (9)
• Ben Lester — CP~70 electric piano (5)
• Psymun — sampling (5)
• Justin Vernon — Matrix 6 (5), guitar (5), bass (6), voice (6)
• Brian Moen — drums (5)
• Jenn Wasner — voice (5, 6), guitar (5), chorus (9)
• Jake Luppen — guitar (5)
• Brad Cook — basses (5), Folktek Modified Omnichord (8)
• Bruce Hornsby — piano (6), voice (6)
• Elsa Jensen — voice (6)
• Moses Sumney — voice (6)
• Brooklyn Youth Chorus — chorus (6, 9)
• Bryce Dessner — chorus (6, 9), piano (9)
• Francis Starlite — Buchala (9)
• Sad Sax of Shit — saxophones (9)
• Joe Westerlund — shaker (9)
Credits:
Technical:
• Chris Messina — production, engineering, mixing
• Brad Cook — production
• Justin Vernon — production
• Zach Hanson — engineering, mixing
• Marta Salogni — additional engineering
• Jerry Ordonez — assistant engineering, additional mixing
• Zac Hernandez — assistant engineering
• Alli Rogers — assistant engineering
• Rob Moose — string arrangements engineering
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• BJ Burton — production (5), additional production (2, 3, 8, 9), additional engineering (2, 5, 8, 9)
• Andrew Sarlo — additional production (2, 3), additional engineering (2, 3, 5)
• Wheezy — additional production (3)
• Buddy Ross — additional production (8)
• Josh Berg — additional engineering (3)
• Wayne Pooley — additional engineering (6)
• Bella Blasko — additional engineering (6, 9)
Description:
• THREE FULL YEARS ON FROM 22, A MILLION, BON IVER RETURN WITH A FRESH NEW ALBUM following their trajectory of increasingly coded album titles (the next one will probably just be a single underscore). A press release describes the band’s evolution: “From the winter of For Emma, Forever Ago came the frenetic spring of Bon Iver, Bon Iver, and the unhinged summer of 22, A Million. Now, fall arrives early with i,i.” The album features the fried cerebral electronics exhibited on 22, A Million side by side with the buttery brass arrangements that stood out on Bon Iver, Bon Iver, bringing Justin Vernon’s vocals into sharp focus. And it’s as if he’s got more to say now than ever before: “It feels very much like the most adult record, the most complete. It feels like when you get through all this life, when the sun starts to set, and what happens is you start gaining perspective. And then you can put that perspective into more honest, generous work” — and nothing screams perspective and maturity like a reminder to call your mom. The tender “Hey, Ma” features Vernon’s soaring voice (“I waited outside, I was tokin’ on dope, I hoped it all won't go in a minute”) over a lush bed of synth pads and chipmunk’d vocal flourishes. “Jelmore” sounds glitchy and OP~1~heavy (“I never leave the house without it” — Vernon), like 22, A Million in all the right ways, while the comparably stripped~down “U (Man Like)” sounds like Vernon and co doing a Controversy~era Prince cover at some college piano bar on a tour stop. The epic “Faith” starts with tempered acoustic strumming, choral harmonies and strings before giving way to a crescendo of electric guitar and the scorched remains of a chart~topping EDM beat. Apparently it takes a village to make a Bon Iver record, and in addition to a core band consisting of longtime collaborators S. Carey, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Mike Lewis, Matt McCaughan and Rob Moose, Vernon enlists the help of James Blake, The National’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner (Vernon and Aaron released a full~length collab as Big Red Machine last year), Moses Sumney, Francis Starlite, Bruce Hornsby, Polica’s Channy Leaneagh and more. Black vinyl pressing housed in matte gatefold jacket with spot gloss accents and clear printed outer sleeve with full~color 28 page booklet, recommended.
Review
STEPHEN THOMPSON, July 11, 2019
• Last month, Bon Iver released a pair of new songs — “Hey Ma” and “U (Man Like)” — with little context to surround them. Last week, it posted a characteristically cryptic minute~long trailer for... well, something, in the process suggesting the completion of some kind of seasonal cycle. Today, we have our answer: Justin Vernon and his band will release their fourth album (titled i,i) on August 30.
• Bon Iver’s intensely beloved debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, was (by definition) a winter album; Vernon famously recorded it while secluded in a Wisconsin cabin and released it nationally in February 2008. Bon Iver came out in the spring of 2011 and symbolized rebirth, while the digitally fried 22, A Million followed in the sun~blasted summer of 2016. It’s no accident that i,i will land around the beginning of fall.
• “It feels very much like the most adult record, the most complete,” Vernon writes in announcing i,i. “It feels like when you get through all this life, when the sun starts to set, and what happens is you start gaining perspective. And then you can put that perspective into more honest, generous work.”
• The album will feature a sprawling cast of Bon Iver’s players, frequent collaborators and friends, including Moses Sumney, Bruce Hornsby, James Blake, Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, The National’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner, Channy Leaneagh from Poliça and more. Recorded in a pair of comfort zones — the band’s April Base studio in Wisconsin, followed by a weeks~long run in West Texas — i,i is meant to evoke a sense of contentment, though some of its meanings will naturally remain a bit opaque.
• “The title of the record can mean whatever it means to you or me,” Vernon writes. “It can mean deciphering and bolstering one’s identity. It can be how important the self is and how unimportant the self is, how we’re all connected.”
• Naturally, the song titles are a bit of a Bon Iver~ian jumble. • https://www.npr.org/
Label: https://jagjaguwar.com/artist/boniver/
Website: https://boniver.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/home
FB: https://www.facebook.com/boniverwi
Discography:
• For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
• Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011)
• 22, A Million (2016)
• I, I (2019)
______________________________________________
Location: Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S.
Album release: Aug. 30, 2019
Record Label: Jagjaguwar
Duration:
Tracks:
01. Yi 0:31
02. iMi 3:16
03. We 2:22
04. Holyfields, 3:07
05. Hey, Ma 3:36
06. U (Man Like) 2:25
07. Naeem 4:22
08. Jelmore 2:30
09. Faith 3:37
10. Marion 2:21
11. Salem 3:44
12. Sh’Diah 4:11
13. RABi 3:32
Written by:
• Justin Vernon, Trever Hagen, BJ Burton 1
• Vernon, James Blake, Rob Moose, Brad Cook, Mike Lewis, Mike Noyce 2
• Burton, Jeremy Nutzman, Channy Leaneagh, Wheezy, Josh Berg 3
• Vernon, Wheezy, B. Cook, Phil Cook, Andrew Sarlo 4
• Vernon, Chris Messina, B. Cook, Moose 5
• Vernon, B. Cook, Burton 6
• Vernon, Bruce Hornsby, Naeem Hanks, Messina 7
• Vernon, B. Cook, Burton, Hagen, JT Bates, Noah Goldstein 8
• Vernon, Buddy Ross 9
• Vernon, Camilla Staveley~Taylor, BJ Burton, Francis Starlite 10
• Vernon, Moose 11
• Vernon 12
• Vernon, Sean Carey, Leaneagh, Andrew Broder 13
• Vernon, B. Cook, Lewis 14
★ includes full~color 28 page booklet
Personnel:
Musicians
• Wheezy — drum programming (2), programming (3)
• James Blake — Prophet 600 (2), vocals (2)
• Rob Moose — violin (2, 5, 6, 9), viola (2, 5, 6, 9), fast piano (2), octave viola (6, 9), string arrangement (5, 6, 9), Worm Crew arrangement (2, 5, 6, 9), conducting (5, 9)
• Worm Crew — horns (2, 5, 6, 9)
• Mike Noyce — vocals (2)
• Jeremy Nutzman a.k.a. Velvet Negroni — vocals (2)
• Camilla Staveley~Taylor — vocals (2), distorted vocals (9)
• Trever Hagen — slides (2), prepared trumpet f. (8)
• Aaron Dessner — piano (2), guitar (2)
• BJ Burton — programming (2), arrangement (2), TR 8’s (9)
• Buddy Ross — synthesizer (2, 5, 9), Messina (8), piano (9)
• Joe Rainey, Sr. — vocals (3)
• Michael Migizi Sullivan, Sr. — vocals (3)
• Phil Cook — piano (3, 6), B3 (6), voice (6)
• Zach Hanson — piano (3), keyboards (9)
• Ben Lester — CP~70 electric piano (5)
• Psymun — sampling (5)
• Justin Vernon — Matrix 6 (5), guitar (5), bass (6), voice (6)
• Brian Moen — drums (5)
• Jenn Wasner — voice (5, 6), guitar (5), chorus (9)
• Jake Luppen — guitar (5)
• Brad Cook — basses (5), Folktek Modified Omnichord (8)
• Bruce Hornsby — piano (6), voice (6)
• Elsa Jensen — voice (6)
• Moses Sumney — voice (6)
• Brooklyn Youth Chorus — chorus (6, 9)
• Bryce Dessner — chorus (6, 9), piano (9)
• Francis Starlite — Buchala (9)
• Sad Sax of Shit — saxophones (9)
• Joe Westerlund — shaker (9)
Credits:
Technical:
• Chris Messina — production, engineering, mixing
• Brad Cook — production
• Justin Vernon — production
• Zach Hanson — engineering, mixing
• Marta Salogni — additional engineering
• Jerry Ordonez — assistant engineering, additional mixing
• Zac Hernandez — assistant engineering
• Alli Rogers — assistant engineering
• Rob Moose — string arrangements engineering
• Greg Calbi – mastering
• BJ Burton — production (5), additional production (2, 3, 8, 9), additional engineering (2, 5, 8, 9)
• Andrew Sarlo — additional production (2, 3), additional engineering (2, 3, 5)
• Wheezy — additional production (3)
• Buddy Ross — additional production (8)
• Josh Berg — additional engineering (3)
• Wayne Pooley — additional engineering (6)
• Bella Blasko — additional engineering (6, 9)
Description:
• THREE FULL YEARS ON FROM 22, A MILLION, BON IVER RETURN WITH A FRESH NEW ALBUM following their trajectory of increasingly coded album titles (the next one will probably just be a single underscore). A press release describes the band’s evolution: “From the winter of For Emma, Forever Ago came the frenetic spring of Bon Iver, Bon Iver, and the unhinged summer of 22, A Million. Now, fall arrives early with i,i.” The album features the fried cerebral electronics exhibited on 22, A Million side by side with the buttery brass arrangements that stood out on Bon Iver, Bon Iver, bringing Justin Vernon’s vocals into sharp focus. And it’s as if he’s got more to say now than ever before: “It feels very much like the most adult record, the most complete. It feels like when you get through all this life, when the sun starts to set, and what happens is you start gaining perspective. And then you can put that perspective into more honest, generous work” — and nothing screams perspective and maturity like a reminder to call your mom. The tender “Hey, Ma” features Vernon’s soaring voice (“I waited outside, I was tokin’ on dope, I hoped it all won't go in a minute”) over a lush bed of synth pads and chipmunk’d vocal flourishes. “Jelmore” sounds glitchy and OP~1~heavy (“I never leave the house without it” — Vernon), like 22, A Million in all the right ways, while the comparably stripped~down “U (Man Like)” sounds like Vernon and co doing a Controversy~era Prince cover at some college piano bar on a tour stop. The epic “Faith” starts with tempered acoustic strumming, choral harmonies and strings before giving way to a crescendo of electric guitar and the scorched remains of a chart~topping EDM beat. Apparently it takes a village to make a Bon Iver record, and in addition to a core band consisting of longtime collaborators S. Carey, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Mike Lewis, Matt McCaughan and Rob Moose, Vernon enlists the help of James Blake, The National’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner (Vernon and Aaron released a full~length collab as Big Red Machine last year), Moses Sumney, Francis Starlite, Bruce Hornsby, Polica’s Channy Leaneagh and more. Black vinyl pressing housed in matte gatefold jacket with spot gloss accents and clear printed outer sleeve with full~color 28 page booklet, recommended.
Review
STEPHEN THOMPSON, July 11, 2019
• Last month, Bon Iver released a pair of new songs — “Hey Ma” and “U (Man Like)” — with little context to surround them. Last week, it posted a characteristically cryptic minute~long trailer for... well, something, in the process suggesting the completion of some kind of seasonal cycle. Today, we have our answer: Justin Vernon and his band will release their fourth album (titled i,i) on August 30.
• Bon Iver’s intensely beloved debut, For Emma, Forever Ago, was (by definition) a winter album; Vernon famously recorded it while secluded in a Wisconsin cabin and released it nationally in February 2008. Bon Iver came out in the spring of 2011 and symbolized rebirth, while the digitally fried 22, A Million followed in the sun~blasted summer of 2016. It’s no accident that i,i will land around the beginning of fall.
• “It feels very much like the most adult record, the most complete,” Vernon writes in announcing i,i. “It feels like when you get through all this life, when the sun starts to set, and what happens is you start gaining perspective. And then you can put that perspective into more honest, generous work.”
• The album will feature a sprawling cast of Bon Iver’s players, frequent collaborators and friends, including Moses Sumney, Bruce Hornsby, James Blake, Wye Oak’s Jenn Wasner, The National’s Bryce and Aaron Dessner, Channy Leaneagh from Poliça and more. Recorded in a pair of comfort zones — the band’s April Base studio in Wisconsin, followed by a weeks~long run in West Texas — i,i is meant to evoke a sense of contentment, though some of its meanings will naturally remain a bit opaque.
• “The title of the record can mean whatever it means to you or me,” Vernon writes. “It can mean deciphering and bolstering one’s identity. It can be how important the self is and how unimportant the self is, how we’re all connected.”
• Naturally, the song titles are a bit of a Bon Iver~ian jumble. • https://www.npr.org/
Label: https://jagjaguwar.com/artist/boniver/
Website: https://boniver.org/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/home
FB: https://www.facebook.com/boniverwi
Discography:
• For Emma, Forever Ago (2007)
• Bon Iver, Bon Iver (2011)
• 22, A Million (2016)
• I, I (2019)
______________________________________________