for emma, forever ago

'First it was For Emma, Forever Ago. The soul in a refraction of icicles. A moment hanging like breath on air. And yet life – even still life – is not still. The story is not a story if it does not unravel. Your eyes you may cast backward, but the heart is locked in the chest and must beat forever forward. Bon Iver, Bon Iver is the frozen beast pressing upward from a loosening earth, one ear cocked to the echo of the ghost choir still singing, the other craving the martial call of drums tumbling, of thrum and wheeze.'

Today I'm proudly introducing one of my very favorite albums ever made: 'For Emma, Forever Ago' by Bon Iver. You might love it if you're anything into quiet, folksy tunes or soft voices. The vocals are multitracked and oddly beautiful and the guitar sometimes almost sounds out of tune, but then again perfectly in harmony with Justin Vernon's calm head voice. All nine tracks were recorded in four wintry months in a hunting cabin somewhere out in the woods from Wisconsin, and this is exactly how it sounds like. It's strange and takes much getting used to and you might even put it down after one listen and think 'never again', but somehow these tunes stay in the back of your head and touch your feelings like harp strings. I highly recommend this album; it's subtle tunes at first listen grow into brilliant sadness and beauty.