(Rogue Records/Inertia)

A man goes into a cabin – magic happens!

The first thing that hits you is the voice – a silvery, unforced falsetto that builds into choral walls of sound, as sparse acoustic guitar adds to the delicately haunting atmosphere. Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago came about when Justin Vernon went into a remote cabin in the woods of north-western Wisconsin to lay down some tracks, and these are the breathtaking results. His falsetto sometimes has the ghostly Americana element of Canadian outfit The Besnard Lakes, but he also multi-tracks his voice, which adds an almost Gregorian element to the music. There’s pop (of sorts) in the minimalist thump of Lump Sum and expressionistic gospel in The Wolves (Act I and II). Even the nearly-seven-minute finale of re: stacks, which is nothing more than voice and guitar, doesn’t outstay its welcome, because Vernon is simply able to do so much with so little. The DIY approach to this record is true proof that you don’t need $100,000 to make moving music - the fact one man in a cabin could produce something so satisfying and complete is pretty darn impressive.

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MATT THROWER

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