Six years after their most recent album, “i,i,” Bon Iver has resurfaced with “SABLE, fABLE.” Often misunderstood as its namesake, the band’s frontman, Justin Vernon, described the album as “really just a keystone for healing and growing away from this time period where I felt trapped,” in an interview with Zane Lowe. Across 13 tracks, Vernon and his bandmates explore uncontrollable love, newfound confidence and gratitude.
“SABLE, fABLE” is split into disc one and disc two, which are envisioned as “SABLE” and “fABLE,” and have four and nine tracks, respectively. “SABLE” has much more of a somber, old Bon Iver feel, whereas on “fABLE,” listeners find radiant joy where they might not expect it. In an interview with the New York Times, Vernon described the two halves: “[t]hat’s sort of what the ‘Sable’ thing is about: ‘Stay in the darkness, young man.’ And that’s no way to live. ‘Fable’ is: windows down, sunshine, everything is peaceful love — I love you.” For fans of Bon Iver, this new release rings truer to the peaceful tunes and simple production of their 2007 hit, “For Emma, Forever Ago.”
The album opens with a 12-second instrumental that eases into “Things Behind Things Behind Things,” a beautifully simple track about life’s uncertainty, Vernon singing “I am afraid of changing” atop a guitar melody and jumping drumline. The final track of disc one, “Awards Season,” features Vernon singing almost a cappella over a soft hum. It acts as a response to “Things Behind Things,” perhaps in a change of tone brought about by years of personal growth: “And you know what is great? Nothing stays the same.”
If the overarching theme of disc one was fear of the unknown, disc two opens the windows and lets it all in. Disc two, or “fABLE,” opens with “Short Story,” in which January is used as a metaphor for winter: “January ain’t the whole world.” In a BBC interview, Vernon explained that he used this comparison because “winter can sometimes be very bad, and I just wanted to tell myself, it’s not going to last forever, spring will come.” Track four, “Day One,” features Dijon and Flock of Dimes, and brings back a bit of the electronic funk recognizable from “i,i” in 2019. In the BBC interview, Vernon explained that he had asked Flock of Dimes (who joined Bon Iver in 2018) to write a part in the song for Bonnie Raitt, whom he named as his “number one favorite artist of all time.” When Flock of Dimes sent it back, however, Vernon was so wowed by the track that he kept it for the final mix.
“From,” the fifth track of disc two, was my immediate favorite off the album. Vernon sings in his signature brassy falsetto, “from now on, don’t let it trouble your mind, just take my love in your time.” The beat makes you want to bop your head, wave your hand out the car window, tap your feet under your desk. A choir of background vocals lifts up his melody and is supported by a mix of acoustic and electric guitar. Quite the shift from the man behind “Skinny Love.”
For listeners looking for the creature comforts of old Bon Iver album, look no further than the short and sweet disc one. But if, like Vernon, you’re seeking a soundtrack of upbeat love and exuberant joy, for the very first time ever, there’s a Bon Iver album just for you.
