The Beauty of the Sounds

I reviewed Bon Iver's new album a while back, but here's the quick summary. I expected a shift towards a mainstream sound, and although the brilliance and rawness of For Emma, Forever Ago was something that could not be replicated without being hackneyed, I was fearful of a poor sound. I was blown away. Since I'm lucky enough to see Bon Iver in concert when he visits Seattle, I've been listening a lot to all of his music, from For Emma, Forever Ago to the newest release, as well as the Blood Bank EP and the single from Dark Was The Night. I've listened to a lot of music, from all kinds of genres and time periods. The beauty of the sounds that Justin Vernon creates are unlike anything I've heard. When I think of some of my favorite songs ever: Slide by the Goo Goo Dolls, Fake Plastic Trees by Radiohead, Dogs by Damien Rice, Beast of Burden by the Rolling Stones, the Temptation of Adam by Josh Ritter, they all have certain reasons why I love them so much, from specific lyrics to creschendoing choruses. But I'm rarely taken aback by anything. Yet every time I hear the initial notes of Holocene or Perth or Michicant I have to stop whatever I'm doing. I have to sit back and let the music wash over me because I'm incapacitated by the beauty of the sounds. Jeff Buckley's Hallelujah, Whitney Houston's F#5 in I Will Always Love You, Thank You For Hearing Me by Sinead O'Connor are a few rare examples of music that has the similar effect.