Sound of Music: Bon Iver’s Ever-Evolving Style

From creating Bon Iver’s first intimate album in a secluded cabin, to his most recent sonic experimentation, Justin Vernon has continued to reinvent his band’s multi-faceted sound.

The Sound of Music breaks down how every little noise ― that instrument, that sample, that oh-so-significant pause ― makes a song special.

Written by Gracie Warhurst

Photo courtesy of Daniel Jordahl

Justin Vernon conceived the band Bon Iver — a riff on the French phrase bon hiver, meaning good winter — entirely unintentionally. The project arose after he isolated himself in the Wisconsin cold after a recent breakup and the split of his previous band, DeYarmond Edison. His emotions manifested into music, which he recorded each part himself with some leftover sound equipment from a previous project. The product of these experiences is Bon Iver’s first album, For Emma, Forever Ago. Though he originally released the album independently, the label Jagjaguwar picked it up for an official release in 2008, expanding the scope of the band’s audience and garnering the album critical acclaim. Though much of Bon Iver’s music is credited solely to Vernon, he is joined onstage by Michael Noyce, Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan.

From its genesis to the present day, Bon Iver’s work has been one of spontaneity. The hushed vocals, quivering falsetto, and layered instrumentals serve as experimental puzzle pieces laid together across albums. Frontman Justin Vernon works by just letting the music happen, saying in an interview with the Current that the process is subconscious. This methodology is evident in Bon Iver’s productions — each album feels like a new invention, borrowing elements across music genres from folk’s acoustics to pop’s autotune. Vernon and the band have been able to keep up this intimacy of creation by not spreading themselves thin: Bon Iver took a hiatus from 2012 to 2014, and separated its albums by waiting a couple years between each one.

Bon Iver, usually labeled an “indie,” “alternative,” or “folk” band, doesn’t fit into the exact definition of each genre because it’s playing in a league entirely its own. Its initial albums incorporate more raw instrumentals with the vocals in a higher register, best aligning with music from the indie folk category. Bon Iver’s latter two albums, 22, A Million and i,i, experimented with mixed background music and a full range of vocals, which were sometimes digitized, creating a more alternative feel. 

The transition from For Emma, Forever Ago to Bon Iver demonstrates Vernon’s first sonic evolution. While the first album gave fans unforgettable favorites like “Skinny Love,” it is ultimately a stripped down pilot to their eponym. When creating the nine songs on For Emma, Vernon started with the idea of a melody without any words and then went back and listened to what he made to add in lyrics. The guitar strummed base of each song is amplified by layered melancholy cries that echo across every track. A glimmer of his later commonly-featured autotune style appears underdressed and hidden between acoustic sensibilities in tracks such as “The Wolves (Act I and II).” He also seems to foreshadow his later gospel-inspired work in the angelic falsettos featured in “Lump Sum.”  The frontman’s vocals come across painfully vulnerable and muddled with hurt, which contributes to the album’s recurring themes of winter and isolation.

In Bon Iver, the band takes a more direct approach, with each song on the album sonically representing a physical place. Each element from the vocals to guitar to percussion is crisply isolated, surprisingly making each track more seamlessly blended. In contrast to the stand-alone acoustic of his first album, additional instruments deepen the background of each song on Bon Iver. This depth allows the sound of each story to develop, creating significant build-ups and climaxes, particularly in “Perth,” which features the saxophone on top of a steadily building drum beat and guitar riff at the pivotal moment of the song. These revolutionized background sounds also serve to drive each song forward, such as the steady piano and swelling violin in “Wash.” Producing a more polished feel was intentional. Vernon said he had to solicit help to develop his music writing, making this second release a refined album from a more practiced musician. He added new sounds like Colin Stetson’s saxophone and Greg Liesz’s guitar, diversifying the contrast between the instrumentals and vocals.

Bon Iver’s break between its second and third album acted as an impetus for a sound revolution. The band members returned from their hiatus and then dropped a new album (22, A Million) in 2016, now reaching greater heights of experimentation. Most notably, this included the incorporation of synth and gospel-like background vocals. These additions both surprise and intrigue with their seemingly competing natures. Bon Iver created the perfect puzzle of sound that the casual listener will miss the meaning without a second listen. In this album, and the following i,i, processed vocals and artistic glitches characterize the songs. Reverb in each track’s recording makes the songs feel more atmospheric than on previous albums. Staccato percussion gives texture to the background of songs such as “10 d E A T h b R E a s T⚄ ⚄”. The multiple layers of autotune in “715 - CRΣΣKS” acts as an extension of Vernon’s real voice. No longer are there the timid whispers of vulnerability: instead, he puts emphasis on specific words to yell out his feelings (“GOD DAMN turn around now”).

While 22, A Million delivers in the odd-ball category, each song on Bon Iver’s most recent album has an other-worldly feel, especially in the combination of deeper tones and reverbing chorale Vernon sings more clearly in i,i, but pulls out his true vocals in contrast to his previous favoritism of falsettos in his first two albums. “Jelmore” exemplifies this vocal element, placing it over the top of a stuttering synth that breaks up the background music. However, both the old and new releases have a full-circle feel despite the new developments. The last song on their 2016 release, “00000 Million,” gives a nod to the band's roots. More simple than the others on this album, it combines layered vocals with a resounding piano background, and is reminiscent of the rawness of their first and second album.

Bon Iver’s collection of albums may vary greatly in theme and style, but they are consistent in their evolution. From one release to another, the listener receives a sound distinctly its own, yet still an obvious expansion on the one that came before it. Ultimately, Bon Iver’s beauty lies in the fact that listening to the group’s music is an experience itself — the content is in the vocals and instrumentals, always surprising their audience with what may come next.