After the fractured electronic textures of
Bon Iver's 2016 album
22, A Million successfully took the project to the outer limits of where their sound could go,
Justin Vernon pulled back from the edges of the avant-garde for something more familiar and less jaggedly experimental on 2019's
I,I. With the help of a skilled cast of musicians robust enough to field five baseball teams and then some,
Vernon uses every color in his paint box in crafting a record that takes in all the elements of past records and swirls them into something somber, expressive, intimate, and expansive all at the same time. The songs are built on convoluted rhythms and subtle washes of synths with stabs of horns and massed vocals surrounding
Vernon's tortured wail and mumbled ramblings. Some of the tracks lean more in the direction of the small-scale electronic explorations of
22, A Million, with
Vernon zeroing in on a tender feeling and transmitting it faithfully. Featuring the smooth vocals of
Velvet Negroni, "iMi" is late-night R&B twisted into a heartbreaking knot, and "Marion" is an expanded take on the backwoods sound of early
Bon Iver, with gentle strings caressing the melody. These quiet, intricate arrangements provide the perfect backing for
Vernon's poetic lyrics and restrained vocals. ~ Tim Sendra
![Come Away With Me [20th Anniversary LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602438842346_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Come Away With Me [20th Anniversary LP]")
![Nothing's Shocking [180g Vinyl]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227988845_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Nothing's Shocking [180g Vinyl]")
![Vitalogy [Remastered]]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0886978431110_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Vitalogy [Remastered]]")
![Decade [3LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0093624915461_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Decade [3LP]")
![Amnesiac [LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0634904078300_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Amnesiac [LP]")
