Tag Archives: bon iver

Owl and Bear’s Best Albums of 2011

2011 was a mixed bag. Established acts like Radiohead and The Strokes dropped duds on trusting fans, while middle-of-the-road acts like The Drums and Hunx and His Punx raised the bar with surprising sophomore efforts. Floundering bands like Iron & Wine and The Dodos made welcome returns to glory, while others merely treaded water (see She and Him’s Christmas album or MGMT’s “mix tape.”) Continue reading…

Video: Bon Iver – “Calgary”

Justin Vernon is one enigmatic fellow. It’s not always easy to decipher the poetry of his songs, but we still love to soak in the reverberant melodies and uncover the mystery of Bon Iver. Maybe one of the biggest puzzles yet is the video for his latest single, “Calgary.” It’s abstract, sultry and features a backwards bear and people falling through hidden worlds in the earth.

via Paste

Stream Bon Iver’s New Album

Photo credit: D. L. Anderson

Full album stream: Bon Iver – Bon Iver

Bon Iver is a grand, chance-taking record: It sheds the raw nerviness of 2008’s perfect For Emma, Forever Ago and replaces it with arrangements so lush and vivid, it can be hard to make out much of what Vernon sings. Out June 21, the whole record dares to be dreamy, and to let Bon Iver’s ever-growing backing band paint pictures while Vernon’s words dissipate into the ether. Most of these 10 songs induce gasps at one point or another, for any number of reasons: from the forceful jolt of an orchestral boomlet, the delicate shhhhhinnnnng of finger cymbals, or an impeccable bit of vocal phrasing by Vernon, who can still make seemingly slight inflections hit like punches.

Bon Iver has also announced a sizable tour that will take him through the eastern U.S. and Europe, with no West Coast dates as yet. The last time Vernon and his band played San Diego, he came to UCSD’s tiny Ché Café, charged $7, and basically blew everyone’s mind. When he does play San Diego again, it’ll be nowhere near as intimate, but you can still count on O&B’s attendance. Full list of Bon Iver tour dates is below…