Song of the Day: Bon Iver – ‘Skinny Love’
admin on Feb 20th 2008
This song was recorded during a three-month solo sojourn by Justin Vernon somewhere in the woods of Northwestern Wisconsin. Apart from committing songs to tape, these solitary days were filled with bouts of wood chopping in the onset of winter (the name Bon Iver being inspired by the French for ‘good winter’), providing enough space to inspire the introspective aesthetic behind his startling debut, For Emma, Forever Ago.
I must admit I hadn’t heard of Bon Iver before the announcement of this year’s stellar Primavera Sound line-up the other day, but as I predicted, it has already led to a discovery or two. His beautiful new album has just been released this week and Pitchfork have just put up his very own ‘Guest List’ feature where he singles out the Bowerbird’s ‘Olive Hearts’ and Panda Bear’s ‘Ponytail’ as favourite songs – more than enough, in my book, to suggest his music might be on my kind of wavelength.
No doubt Vernon’s voice will be subject to a series of inevitable comparison (Patrick Watson and TV On The Radio are two that immediately spring to mind) but there is something promising here from the very first listen. Songs like ‘Skinny Love’ are sounds I look forward to growing into.
Popularity: 5% [?]
Filed in Recommended, Song of the Day
