No Frills Reviews

Justin Vernon leans into the mythology of Bon Iver, while delivering his most straightforward songwriting yet on a trip through his darkest lows and brightest highs

Justin Vernon’s latest had been framed in some quarters as ‘Bon Iver gone sexy’. Whether that was the intention or not, it never quite achieves it; but it no doubt represents something of a rebirth. With the weight of the Bon Iver mythology behind it, SABLE, fABLE is ostensibly a paean to the transformative power of love. It’s both a celebration of, and a caution against, falling into the trap of such clichéd extremes.

The opening SABLE section (taken wholesale from last year’s excellent EP of the same name) is a return to the stark introspection of their debut; recalling the enduring image of Justin Vernon as a heartbroken folk singer that retreated into the woods all those years ago and emerged with one of the all-time great breakup albums. In a theme that continues across the album, this is some of Vernon’s most overtly personal and straightforward songwriting. SABLE represents the darkness he sees – anxiety, depression, heartache, etc. – as he quite literally looks himself in the mirror. The stripped-back nature of this trio of songs allows brief moments of beauty to emerge; the opening pedal-steel twang of SPEYSIDE or the short blast of horns on AWARDS SEASON. But it’s really a showcase for the power and pain of Vernon’s always fantastic vocals.

The prospect of a new relationship that appears as SABLE draws to a close is the segue into the fABLE section: a folkloric tale of great romance. One of the first words we hear is ‘sun’; the music opening out into technicolour sounds as we experience Vernon basking in the light of love. fABLE pushes the glitchy electro experimentation of more recent albums into more overtly pop and soul territory, often veering into outright devotional music. The on-the-nose simplicity of some lyrics (see “Damn if I’m not climbin’ up a tree right now”) combined with the soft rock-ness of it all may initially feel too schmaltzy, but its undoubtedly the most euphoric music of his career.

On AWARDS SEASON, Vernon seemingly spells out the SABLE, fABLE paradigm – “I’m a sable and, honey, us the fable” – his relationship(s) take on epic significance and represent light, while he allows any darkness to live within him. He takes us from the metaphoric lows of SABLE to the highs of fABLE, but as the album wraps up in more mellow territory on There’s A Rhythm, Vernon is seeking to escape the binaries he’s imposed on himself; trying to break from anxiety-inducing cycles of emotional extremes and learning to find the balance between the “snow” and “a land of palm and gold”.

With Vernon once again talking of potentially retiring the moniker, this is a largely successful encapsulation of the Bon Iver project as it touches on the range of sounds from across his catalogue, without devolving into retreads. He leans on the mythology and image that has followed him throughout his career, while essentially stripping away any layers of mystery to deliver his most uncomplicated songwriting to date. It’s an acceptance and celebration of the beauty that lives within simplistic emotional extremes, but also a rejection of living purely within those emotional extremes; a satisfyingly uncertain conclusion.

Best tunes: S P E Y S I D E, Walk Home, Day One, From

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