22, A Million

4/10. A mix of weird electronic sounds and sleepy piano music that just really isn't doing it for me today. Good to know that someone is out there forcing Spotify to support unicode, though.

Once in a while I hear a Bon Iver song and thing, "Oh, that's pretty nice." But mostly I just find him pretentious. Naming songs the way Elon Musk names his children, and please, enough with the auto-tuner. 2 stars.

Meh. Hipsters doing... something. 2/5

Amazing addition to the list. Still my fav record by them.

I almost submitted this album. This album showcases Justin Vernon’s struggle with growing fame both lyrically and musically. Here we hear his voice, Bon Iver’s focal point, distorted throughout almost as if he’s hiding himself in the electronics (invented in house by Chris Messina by the way). The tumult can be heard throughout, comes to a head, and dissolves into the final song where we finally hear the man himself without the artifice. That’s not to say the electronics only serve the purpose of obfuscation. They also turn sound into a kaleidoscope as heard on the penultimate track where one saxophone is transformed into many. I had the pleasure of hearing this album played through from start to finish at Oakland’s Fox Theater and I can attest to its power and masterful use of tension and release.

THANK YOU. To whoever picked this: I owe you my gratitude, as you made it possible for me to pick something else. Truly, this was a front-runner for me as a user submission, but as someone else beat me to it, I got to add Jai Paul’s album. I actually like this more than the one I picked, how often will people say that? Anyway, I’ve described this as the most perfect album that I’ll never understand, or “inscrutable brilliance.” A lot of Bon Iver’s work is a bit cryptic, but this is the first where he dove headfirst into the void, singing back to us through a lexicon that’s barely recognizable. But the emotions are real, palpable, and they transcend language and description. This might as well be in another language, and it would hit the same. I can’t get enough of the maximalism—remember, this is the same guy who holed up in a cabin for months to create For Emma Forever Ago, an album borne of basically nothing but pain and a guitar. Here, we’ve got all manner of instruments, vocoders, autotune, you name it. I adore it, I listen to it all the time when I feel the need to feel something, hell I’ve even got a supercut of all the music videos saved on my RG35XXSP (handheld gaming device) and I’m playing those while I listen right now. Enlightening experience, doesn’t necessarily explain anything but doesn’t need to. Just light and color and imagery to enhance the experience. God, I love this album. My favorite album from one of my favorite artists/groups ever. Probably on my short list for favorite albums ever, possibly top 10-20 or something. Fight me. Favorite tracks: Not a second on here I don’t love. 8 (circle), Creeks, death breast, 29 strafford apts all in my DNA. Album art: Classic for me, maybe not iconic yet but I love it. As inscrutable as the music, all glyphs and sketches and symbols and nothing makes sense. Does it need to? 5/5

Folk boy goes experimental with mixed results. Seldom has auto tune been more unnecessarily applied.

Yeah this is where Bon Iver really mashed a Radiohead and Gotye sound together with his own blend.

Very very good! Nicely done

A lovely, weird, creative, sad bunch of harmonies and ambient music fed through an electronic filter. This is great and came at just the right time to feel sad to. Rating: 5 Playlist track: 666 ʇ Date listened: 09/10/24

Oh, I like this a lot. Thank you!

That went down fairly easy.

I first got a streaming service back in 2016, our whole family got on an Apple Music plan and I still remember the feeling of all music at my finger tips. My first goal was to start listening to the newly added music each week and that was when my tastes really expanded. 2016 was an epic year not just because of that, but because so many great albums came out. Solange, Gambino, Metallica, Kanye, Beyonce, Tribe, and many more including this album by Bon Iver. I still don't know what this album means or really what's going on. There are distortions and super short songs, it’s only 30ish minutes. By all accounts I shouldn't like this album, but I do. I've usually just listened all the way through because I can't tell when one song ends or begins but this time I listened to tracks. I kept 22 (over soon), 29 Strafford Apts, 666, and 00000 Million. For all those reasons I'll say it isn't perfect, but here is yet another great pick from these user suggestions. It's probably a 4.5, but remembering those cold days winter days where I had this on in the background at work in an office or driving home. I'll bump that to a five, thanks for the memories.

Wow. I was excited for this album at the time, but the electronics and production left me cold and confused by the direction. My ears and heart have now caught up. I listened through nearly three times. The harmonies, the pain, the sheer ambition. Genius.

Does not match the highs of Emily, but is still pretty great. Cool to see that his sound continued to evolve even after I stopped listening regularly.

The sampling and the integrity of Bon Iver kind of don't match for me... I don't think it's their best album. But it's enjoyable

First of the user albums that I've heard before

Whooooooh tightightightight

Not shocked to see a Bon Iver album on the user submitted list. He’s definitely one of the more iconic modern artists with his unique style. This album I wouldn’t say is his best but it’s definitely one I like and also very experimental. Overall this is a catchy and brilliantly artistic album that deserves many re-listens. 8.2/10

Brilliant!

It's cool when a band or artist takes a weird step forward with a new album. It can be risky but in this case it pays off.

I’ve only ever listened to for Emma so it was cool to hear non wistful sad stuff and listen to cool electronica type stuff instead. Fun to listen to while high too.

Very interesting and at times I really liked it, although it was low key and I did tire of the auto tune at times. But still lovely and personal.

All the electronic sounds would have kept me from thinking this was really "indie folk," but then again it's part of such an interesting blend of genres. While I sometimes wondered if I liked it, I was always captivated by it and thought it had quite beautiful moments.

Ó svo notalegt.

What a cool guy

The Song is dead. Justin Vernon is still alive, apparent and there as sculptor. Which is to say that 22, A Million never bends its sound to architecture, a strict and intentional limit less a shame for pain's sake than beauty's. Can't live within modernity, the squeeze of the literally digital.

I have a great fondness for the first three releases, I kind of had stopped following at this one. Some of this seems verging at (I think intentional) self-parody, certainly it seems a rebellion of sorts. I don't hate it and like some of it pretty well but overall it doesn't quite seem fully baked. In all though I'd rather see someone forging into new territory, even if not fully successful, than circling over the same oground.

It is definitely a very unique, instant recognizable sound. I should listen to this more often to actually get into it more. For now, I'm starting with 3/5 stars.

My first full-length Bon Iver listen, and I fully get the hype. This is a wondrous, expansive LP that strives to push boundaries and break things, misusing production techniques to create some truly clever tracks. This does, however, lead to a certain sense of emotional sterility – the LP reads more as a museum art piece than an album I'd put on to fully listen to for the emotional response. I know Iver's other works have soul in spades, so it's a shame this collection of tracks doesn't quite read that intimately. That said, however, this is still an amazingly cool work of art and one I could see myself returning to when the vibes are just right.

I once worked with a Bon Over fan who called my criticism that their music doesn't go anywhere "clichéd". It's right though, innit. Still, it was a different vibe and I appreciate your selection.

Rating: 6/10 Best songs: __45__

He is definitely an artist missing from the list, though I definitely in the For Emma, Forever Ago camp... one of my absolute favorite albums. This is definitely way more experimental, though his approach still shows a lot passion. The slightly more traditional tracks like 8 Circle really work for me, but there's not enough like that which makes most of the album more of a curiosity.

It's a very inventive album that seems to overturn a lot of the paradigms of what a song needs to be. Ultimately, however, it doesn't really work for me. A bit mechanical, a bit herky jerky.

Sweet

always mixed with bon iver, i like some of his songs but i find his albums sometimes hard to listen to... will give him 3 but it could very well be 2

I don't know what Bon Iver was trying to accomplish with this album, but I did not get it. I still don't get it now

Bon Iver is definitely an acquired taste, and apparently it is something I haven't acquired.

I know people raved about this then and I think some called it album of the year, but I never understood it. I really loved his debut with his beautiful voice. On this album is full of vocoder and autotune. Such a waste.

Nice variety of sounds. Very interesting. Although it's not much of my taste, I'll give it a 2, but more of this kind of experimental sounds could have been on the list. This kind of "indie" music is kinda over-exploted nowadays also, I think.

Too experimental with vocoder voicings and weird electronica. Not enjoying this one

Didn't get on with it, an attempt to mix rock and electro, but, particularly the slower songs just don't work for me. 1.7

Okay, I'm "an old," but I'm not getting much out of this at all.

Uggh. Bon Iver is so bland. It's just boring pseudo "indie" hipster soundscapes. Snoozefest.

Folktronica, art pop, electronic. Rollo. Un 2.

Contains auto-tunes

Another one not for me

Let's take shitty indie music and add auto tune. It was still awful. Songs were skipped.

So boring. Never heard anything I liked by this artist. This would've been a two but the autotune stuff was just dreadful.