Last October’s Sable EP saw Justin Vernon return briefly to the sorrowful man-in-a-cabin vibes of Bon Iver’s breakthrough album, For Emma, Forever Ago. Now, the Wisconsin musician has wrapped a soul album around that dark-hearted release, at least figuratively: the Sable, Fable cover shows a black square encircled by a salmon-coloured frame. The Sable songs serve as a jumping-off point for what is Bon Iver’s most easy-going record to date.
Things have changed for Vernon since his last full-length, i.i (2019), not least via cameos on songs by Taylor Swift and Charli xcx. The musician has been spending more time in the LA sunshine, trying to shake off the pained rural singer-songwriter role he has played both in stripped-back form (For Emma…) and alongside abstract electronics (the digital soundscapes of 2016’s 22, a Million).
Kicking off with the pedal steel-enhanced, sweet soul yearnings of Everything Is Peaceful Love, a vivid kind of equanimity hovers over Fable, which also continues Vernon’s run of nuanced duets with notable creatives (Danielle Haim on If Only I Could Wait; Flock of Dimes on Day One). However it’s the most glitchy soul tracks, with just Vernon’s falsetto to the fore – such as Walk Home – that win the day.
