Bon Iver- Blood Bank

Bon Iver- Blood Bank

Leak: http://rapidshare.com/files/170753030/bi_-_bb.zipI last saw Bon Iver (July 23, 2008). They showcased a couple of new tunes, with the exception of one song I wasn't excited to say the very least. The only song that i liked from the live show is the only one i can commit to really liking off of the new EP titled 'Blood Bank'. The title track is also the first tune of the EP, it's the song that sounds the most like his last album 'For Emma, Forever Ago,' one of the prettiest albums of the year. “Blood Bank” is simple. Simple is how Justin Vernon's songs are best kept. The song is bare, it starts with some “ooooh” action and simple guitar strumming. The lyrics are petty as per usual but i never really took Vernon's lyrics too seriously. Most notably this song builds, swells and breaks down very similarly to the songs off of his first album. It has pretty good imagery, which is kind of funny as 'For Emma' i couldn't grasp any of the lyrics just from listening to the album by ear. At the end of the song he repeats “I know it well...” over and over, I can tell he wrote it for that audience driven anthem response, similar to “The Wolves”. I read an interview where Vernon stated his songs were meant to be sung by large groups and he really needs the audience's help to get the true sound of the song to come across.The second tune on the album is called “Beach Baby”. This song is the simplest ditty on the EP. It has a single guitar strumming throughout with minimal guitar work layered over top. It has the ease that a slower tune from 'For Emma' has but without the intense feeling, or heart that it captured so well.“Babys” is tied for the worst song on this album, which is sad to say as there are only four songs on this EP. It has a repeated piano line which is hard on the ears. It has vocals and music similar to “Flume” in regards to the progression of the song. It swells and stops very similarly, but the piano comes off as a lame Christmas song instead of a Bon Iver song. It's sort of a cross between “Flume” and “Jingle Bells”, very ironically he's singing about summer in the song. I really do not like this song. He should put away his piano.OK i spoke to soon because i just remember that the last song doesn't have any piano on it. BUT it looks like Imogen Heap has a fierce competitor. Do you remember her TV show soundtrack hit “Hide and Seek” it was pretty impossible to find a trendy show that didn't showcase this song at one point. I'm saying this now before anything has materialized but i truly think that this song will be on Grey's for next season (or another TV show). He has no instruments and just vocals on this track. I might have been impressed by this song had “Hide and Seek” not been put out first. I find this track boring (but significantly better than “Babys”). It has the swell in vocals like his older album does so well, but the simplicity of this track is blinded by his synthesized vocals. I always thought of Bon Iver to be so well crafted through their simplicity. It's a shame that this album has been produced and refined.La Blogotheque does Bon Iver, I really dig the bit he's singing at the beginning: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Swa9CYgRkBlack Cab Session: http://blackcabsessions.com/sessions.php?id=1212749488&sort=chronologicalI'm thinking that his sessions with the French website “La Blogotheque” inspired him to craft this song. In many of the videos Vernon and his band performed tunes off of 'For Emma' acapella real nice. I hope the new LP doesn't sound completely like the last three tracks of this four song EP. The song “Blood Bank” saves this album.

December 8, 2008