Bon Iver – ‘SABLE’ EP review: Justin Vernon strips things back on transitional gem

17 October, 2024

bon iver sable review

Since Justin Vernon completed the cycle of the seasons in 2019 with Bon Iver’s masterful fourth album ‘i, i’ – which represented autumn – he’s been in high demand. Enlisted by the likes of Taylor Swift, The National and Zach Bryan for collaborations, Vernon most recently appeared on Charli XCX’s star-studded ‘Brat’ remix album, lending his glorious falsetto to ‘I Think About It All The Time’. The road to new Bon Iver music, however, has been a winding one.

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The result is ‘SABLE’ – three tracks that encapsulate the transformative three-year period in which they revealed themselves to Vernon. Largely reduced to the bare bones of pure voice and guitar, it’s arguably his rawest work since Bon Iver’s acclaimed 2005 debut ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’, stripping away the humming electronics which eased their way into his sound through 2016’s ‘22, A Million’ and ‘i, i’.

Although ‘Things Behind Things Behind Things’ commences with an uncomfortably harsh bleep – like a heart monitor in a hospital – a familiar, gentle acoustic melody opens the door into Vernon’s troubled mind. Repeating lyrics and searching for a way out of the rut, he first has to face himself: “I get caught looking in the mirror on the regular.”

An apologetic Vernon confronts guilt out in the open on the sombre ‘S P E Y S I D E’, coming to terms with his past mistakes (“Man, I’m so sorry / I got the best of me”). Uplifted by the brief yet divine introduction of a viola – courtesy of collaborator Rob Moose – Vernon turns bleakness into hope, for perhaps the first time on the EP: “But maybe you can still make a man from me.”

The steadily building ‘Awards Season’ completes the EP, its undying optimism and euphoric brass interlude signifying a reinvigorated Vernon. Despite being told over the course of just three tracks, the story of growth and revitalisation that underpins ‘SABLE’ hardly feels rushed.

Vernon’s unique vocal delivery hasn’t lost a smidge of potence as he bares his soul for all to hear. After four albums of constant evolution, perhaps the transitional tale of ‘SABLE’ is one Vernon couldn’t avoid; it’s the work of an artist taking the time he needed to close old wounds.

“I am afraid of changing” he starkly admits on ‘Things Behind Things Behind Things’. But, as the young Vernon who moved back to Wisconsin in 2006 will remember, grappling with glandular fever and the end of a relationship, Bon Iver’s very foundations exist within a climate of change and uncertainty. ‘SABLE’ can serve as a reminder of the light at the end of the tunnel, and a reason to push through adversity – to move forward onto a new chapter.