Bon Iver teases folky new single ‘S P E Y S I D E’, coming this week
Bon Iver has shared a snippet of a brand-new single, ‘S P E Y S I D E’ – check out the post below.
- READ MORE: Bon Iver – ‘i, i’ review
The Justin Vernon-led project seemingly began teasing new music earlier this month with a black-and-white video clip. In the footage, we saw the singer-songwriter/producer wearing a Western-style shirt and a wide-brimmed hat covering his eyes.
It directed fans to boniver.org and displayed the name of Bon Iver’s record label, Jagjaguwar. Two more posts have since appeared on social media – the second of which contained a brief and atmospheric instrumental.
Now, Vernon has announced that a new song called ‘S P E Y S I D E’ will be arriving this Friday (September 20). You can pre-add/pre-save it here.
The news comes with another monochrome visual – this time depicting some ominous-looking clouds – and a portion of the imminent track. It contains some folky, acoustic guitar and a smattering of Vernon’s distinct vocals.
Tune in here:
The lyrics for ‘S P E Y S I D E’ have been confirmed in the description for the single’s upcoming official music video (see the premiere link below). They read:
“I know now that I can’t make good
How I wish I could
Go back and put
Me where you stood
Nothing’s really something now the whole thing’s soot
It serves to suffer make a hole in my foot
And hope you look
As I fill my book
What a waste of wood
Nothing’s really happened like I thought it would
Ah, ah, ah
I can’t rest on no dynasty
What is wrong with me?
Ah, I’m so sorry
I got the best of me
I really damn been on such a violent spree
But maybe you can still make a man from me
Here on Speyside quay
With what’s left of me
As you live and breathe
Really know now what had hold on me”
Further details about a potential new album from Bon Iver have not yet been revealed, but fans can sign up to receive more information via email.
Bon Iver’s fourth and latest studio record, ‘i, i’, was released in 2019. In a glowing five-star review of the project, NME said that we find “contradictory instrumental lines gorgeously meshing together, turning the older sounds into something fresh and new”.
It added: “But it also feels bittersweet. With ‘i, i’ marking the end of the album cycle, the possibility of any future Bon Iver music is uncertain.”
Bon Iver has since collaborated with Taylor Swift on her 2020 sister albums, ‘Folklore’ and ‘Evermore’, and performed ‘Exile’ with the pop star during his show 2022 show in London. He also featured on The National’s 2022 single ‘Weird Goodbyes’.
In 2021, Big Red Machine – Vernon’s side-project with The National‘s Aaron Dessner – released their second album, ‘How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?’.
In other news, Bon Iver performed a short set in support of Kamala Harris’ election rally in Wisconsin last month.
The post Bon Iver teases folky new single ‘S P E Y S I D E’, coming this week appeared first on NME.
Tom Skinner
NME
