By Andy Battaglia, eMusic ContributorAvant-garde saxophonist Colin Stetson's credits as a collaborator include a slew of indie friends — Arcade Fire, Feist, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and TV on the Radio among them — but he's most formidable and… more »
By Barry Walters, eMusic ContributorNo one combines sawmill-roar noise, dying-planet sadness and mad-scientist glee with the heartfelt sincerity of The Flaming Lips. In return, the music world writes Wayne Coyne and his fellow Oklahomans a blank creative check, which… more »
By Laura Studarus, eMusic ContributorSome musicians pour blood, sweat and tears into their work, laboring for years — sometimes lifetimes — to produce that one perfect album. Then there's the other group of musicians, the kind whose creativity is… more »
By Jason Diamond, eMusic ContributorYou might not be happy about it, but you can't deny that you're pretty much living in Justin Vernon's world. Â The guy can do anything he wants because he's got a Grammy, and he's gonna… more »
By Laura Leebove, Deputy EditorSinger/songwriter Anais Mitchell has devoted much of her last few years to Hadestown, a grandiose folk opera that began as a stage production, which spawned an album with characters voiced by Bon Iver's Justin Vernon, Ani DiFranco, The Low Anthem's Ben Knox Miller and Greg Brown. She's toured it endlessly with a small orchestra and rotating cast of singers (I've seen it three times) and it's a phenomenal project — but it's also so exciting to hear a brand-new set of material from this truly gifted songwriter. Young Man In America isn't a concept album, but thematically it explores relationships between parents and their children — in the opening track "Wilderland" she sings about a mother being a "shelterer" and father as a "shepherder," and in "Young Man" talks about a boy whose father who "didn't give a damn." Young Man ebbs and flows — from the jangly Americana of… more »
By Ashley Melzer, eMusic ContributorIn 2005, Bowerbirds - Phil Moore and Beth Tacular - wrote their first songs while squatting in an abandoned schoolhouse in South Carolina. Two years later, they released Hymns for a Dark Horse, their debut… more »
By Rachael Maddux, eMusic Contributor"Looking back, it was such a dumb idea," Kathleen Edwards sings on her new album, a line that sounds kind of dumb itself when it's typed out, but that in context - between laments for… more »
By Peter Blackstock, eMusic ContributorThe too-obvious shorthands here - given that this album was produced by her new beau Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) in the wake of her marital split from her longtime guitarist Colin Cripps - is… more »
By J. Edward Keyes, Editor-in-ChiefIn the book of First Timothy, Chapter 1, verse 15, the Apostle Paul wrote: "Here is a trustworthy saying: Christ came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst." Approximately… more »
By Laura Leebove, Deputy EditorBon Iver's Justin Vernon had an eventful 2010 — he AutoTuned his way on to the most important album of the year and released an R&B-leaning record with his side project, Gayngs. But one of… more »
By Amanda Petrusich, eMusic Contributor2008 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… more »
