Bon Iver Releases “Sable”

28 Oct

*Bon Iver / Photo Credit: Erinn Springer*

Today, Bon Iver releases SABLE,. Marking the project’s first new record in more than five years, and first EP since 2009, the triptych of songs is autobiographical and direct, each written by Justin Vernon at different points of healing and processing. ‘THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS’ dates back to 2020, when Vernon was unsure of his future as an artist. Born of restless anxiety from one of the most trying periods of his life, it is about unpacking contexts and putting oneself back together. ‘S P E Y S I D E’ serves as an apology that came during a moment of clarity and reflection in 2021, while decamped in Key West.

‘AWARDS SEASON’ takes stock of major change and is the most recent piece, conceived on long walks around Minneapolis’ Lake of the Isles in 2023. Produced by Justin Vernon and Jim-E Stack, SABLE,’s three songs were recorded at April Base in Wisconsin, and are now accompanied by three videos from director Erinn Springer, viewable individually or all together.

SABLE, includes contributions from Bon Iver collaborators such as Eli Teplin (synthesizer), Greg Leisz (pedal steel), Michael Lewis (saxophone, organ, piano), Rob Moose (viola), Trever Hagen (trumpet) and others, with arrangements centered around Justin Vernon’s voice and guitar. Stripping Bon Iver down to the primary elements on which the project was originally founded, the EP is a reset and reintroduction.

Named for near-blackness, SABLE, is also a projection of built-up darkness, but an unburdening of that pressure and personal turmoil. Beginning with the word “I” and ending with “everything we’ve made,” the triptych is a transformation, and the start of a new story. “I’m a sable, and honey, us the fable,” Justin Vernon sings on “AWARDS SEASON.”