Blood Bank

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Total Tracks: 4   Total Length: 16:53

eMusic Review

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Melissa Maerz

eMusic Contributor

01.20.09
Bon, Strums & Harmony
2009 | Label: Jagjaguwar / SC Distribution

Last year, flannel-shirted Southerner Justin Vernon trekked out to a snowy cabin in Wisconsin to recover from one grizzly bear of a break-up. He came back with a new name, Bon Iver, and a haunting 2008 debut, For Emma Forever Ago — a collection of lo-fi, beardy-boy folk ballads so wrenching, it was the ice-pick that cracked critics 'hard little hearts wide open. eMusic named For Emma the sixth best album of 2008, so expectations for Vernon's much-anticipated new EP are high. Luckily, Blood Bank blows up Vernon's fireside hymns into fully-formed jams — it's just the step he needs to venture out of the woods and into the world.

For one thing, Bon Iver has expanded from the quiet, votive-candle flickerings of one man's acoustic guitar to the sound of a real band, complete with slide guitar. And Vernon's high-lonesome voice has gotten less wounded, his storytelling sharper than before. The title track — a highlight of the EP — is a love story set at a blood bank, with no detail spared: the vials filled with fluid, the crescent moon in the sky, the kiss in a parked car afterward. Layers of crackling electric guitars just amp up… read more »

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Another great release

lucashansen

Although not quite as incredible as For Emma, still an awesome release

user avatar

love this guy

francn

he doesn't disappoint.

user avatar

CAN I SUGGEST...BON IVER IS POP?

pompitousoflove

I think the song "Blood Bank" could be his most accessible song. Not that I don't like his others, but this might be best. On "Babys" he sounds like he was listening to some Steve Reich?

user avatar

Love it!

Tree77

Download them all. You won't regret it. Justin Vernon's collaboration of Bon Iver has produced some of the best music out there. All four tracks are solid with the last track "Woods" sounding like nothing you have heard before.

user avatar

three outta four

crunchee

the first three tracks are brilliant. i get the effect he's going for with the gratuitous use of auto-tune, but i still don't like it.

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Another great work

behanson2004

Can't get the darned Woods out of my head....

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Best download from emusic?

eclecticdownloader

possibly - but there is still time to eclipse this work... It does not suit every mood, but it would be wrong to categorise it as doleful/soulful - the compositions span a range of emotions, and express them beautifully. A real gem.

user avatar

Best Bon Iver Song?

csmith25

I'm going to stick my neck out and say Blood Bank is thee best Bon Iver song to date. Yes, I know it doesn't contain his trade falsetto vocal, bar a slight hint. I just love the way the song gradually builds without going into a huge climax.

user avatar

auto-tune? seriously

eeyote

First 3 tracks are solid. Last track, I just can't get with the auto-tune.

user avatar

a satisfying follow-up

theboldbrew

while we're all waiting for the next full length, this is a great tease, with more soul stirring melodies, lyrics, and back-woods twang

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eMusic Features

eMusic Q&A: Bon Iver

Bon Iver

By Amanda Petrusich

2008 was an epic year for Bon Iver, the alias of Eau Claire, Wisconsin's Justin Vernon. For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver's self-released debut, was picked up by Jagjaguwar and promptly seized upon by swooning fans, eventually rocketing to the tip-top of eMusic's year-end user poll. For Emma's oft-repeated legend (Vernon camped out in a remote Wisconsin shack for three long, secluded months) helped the record gain footing, but ultimately it was Vernon's songs —… more »

They Say All Media Guide

Bon Iver’s debut album made a huge splash in 2008, receiving both critical acclaim and near-mainstream popularity as the record fanned out over indie rockers, alt-folk fans, and lovers of quietly emotional and frequently inspiring songs sung by a dude with the voice of an angel. All the adulation was well deserved, because For Emma, Forever Ago is the kind of record that manages to capture a musician’s soul and transmit it in a way that truly connects with a large array of listeners. It’s an impressive achievement and one that holds up over many listens. Released in 2009, the Blood Bank EP is both a pause for breath for Justin Vernon and a reminder why so many people fell so deeply in love with the record and the sound he created. Recorded over a couple years and in various locations, the EP sounds like outtakes from Emma, but not in a bad way. “Blood Bank,” with its subtly propulsive drums and idiosyncratic lyrics, would have been one of the album’s best moments. The same goes for the more experimental but still beautiful “Babys,” which features both some gently jarring piano and Vernon’s soothing, multi-tracked falsetto. The only stretch Vernon makes here is on the closing “Woods” — in a somewhat bold move, he embraces Auto-Tune and warps his vocals into almost unrecognizable shapes. Starting off as a lone voice, he begins to harmonize with himself and then adds layers of warbling vocals until the song builds to a frenzied, backwoods R&B symphony of weirdness. It’s a move that could send lots of people into fits of disbelief but strangely enough, it works — especially over headphones, where the vocals can envelope you completely. It’s probably a direction Vernon won’t follow, but it’s an interesting experiment that keeps the record from sounding like outtakes (worthy outtakes, but outtakes all the same) from For Emma, Forever Ago. – Tim Sendra

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