AnaElda Ramos | Managing Illustration Editor

You might know Bon Iver from their hit indie folk song “Skinny Love,” the “Twilight” soundtrack highlight “Rosyln,” or the dramatic duet “exile” with the one and only Taylor Swift. But who is Bon Iver actually — both literally and artistically? 

Bon Iver, a band led by multitalented artist Justin Vernon, released their fifth album “SABLE, fABLE” on Friday, April 11. In an interview with WYEP-FM, Vernon explained that although the record is segmented into the first three songs, “SABLE,” and the following nine tracks, “fABLE,” the two sections combine together to construct the complete record. 

In this interview, Vernon describes the “SABLE,” section as “a look to the past. It’s a kind of an encapsulation of my identity with this whole Bon Iver guy-in-a-cabin problem for the last 15-16 years.” “SABLE,” was released back on Oct. 18, 2024 as a standalone EP, without any mention of its later inclusion on an album. However, the inclusion of a comma in the EP’s title should have been a sign that there was more to come.

“S P E Y S I D E,” the lead single for the “SABLE,” EP, seemingly marked the return of the band’s folk sound, reminiscent of their 2008 debut album “For Emma, Forever Ago,” which sparked their initial popularity. The song contains beautifully layered acoustic guitar, a compact and cohesive sound, and perplexing but sorrowful lyrics such as “Nothing’s really something, now the whole thing’s soot.” 

The other two songs from the EP — “THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS” and “AWARDS SEASON” — follow the somber sounds and story of the lead single. “AWARDS SEASON” provides an optimistic ending to the sad, nostalgic story that is the “SABLE,” section of the larger record, with Vernon singing, “Oh, but maybe things can change / What can wax can wane / Things can get replayed.” This glimmer of hope serves as a prelude to the themes and sound of the rest of the album, along with the quiet string outro that sneakily fades into the opening track of the second section.

On “fABLE,” many things change: the song titles are no longer in all-caps, the instrumentals are more complex and upbeat, Vernon’s voice is digitally manipulated, and he enlists collaborators to sing with him. The album evolves between the first and second sections, just as Bon Iver has evolved from their original folk sound into the eclectic chamber-pop sound of their third and fourth albums. Although the two parts vary in sound and theme, the bare and honest lyrics, along with Vernon’s warm voice that sings them, unite the album.

Bon Iver released “Everything is Peaceful Love” as the first single of their new songs, immediately announcing to listeners that “fABLE” steps away from the immense sadness of the previously-released EP and into a new, joyful version of Bon Iver. The track is a feel-good indie pop song about love with quirky pieces of production that were missing from “SABLE,” but still features deliberate lyrics like “And damn, if I’m not climbing up a tree right now / And every little thing is love / And right with me.”

The album not only has the folk and indie-rock sounds of Bon Iver’s previous eras, but also offers further combination and evolution of the band’s sound, such as in “From,” the fifth track on “fABLE.” This song features rising indie-rock artist Mk.gee on guitar, and contains twangy guitar riffs and indie-pop melodies that I can already imagine hearing on a summer road trip playlist. There is an element of funk to the song’s instrumentals that has not been present on past Bon Iver tracks, and it’s exciting to know that the band is still seeking out new sounds and ideas. Another standout of the album’s second half is track seven, “If Only I Could Wait,” which features Danielle Haim, lead singer of the sister band HAIM, which is also rolling out new music this year. The song is a duet between two lovers, a beautiful back-and-forth, with similar themes but different sounds from Vernon’s duets with Taylor Swift. 

While I do think the music of “SABLE, fABLE” is a beautiful method of tying together Bon Iver’s past and present and future, the promotion choices surrounding the album’s release schedule are perplexing and seemingly unfitting. For example, Bon Iver hosted an exhibition basketball game at a rec center in Los Angeles between the two teams “SABLES” and “FABLES.” Besides the team names and the game poster sharing the black and salmon pink color palette of the album cover and promotional graphic art, there does not seem to be any connection between basketball and Bon Iver’s album. 

Other strange promotional methods include the release of Bon Iver’s own fragrance, ice cream, beer, bagel, and smoked salmon. Sure, the latter I can sort of understand because of the album’s prominent salmon color, but it’s still pushing what I think are reasonable means of promoting a music album. All of these collaborations have little to do with the content of the album or even music in general. It seems that Bon Iver — or just Justin Vernon, because he seems to be the only band member involved in these partnerships — is simply having fun with pushing the boundaries of the “SABLE, fABLE” press schedule. 

In fact, Vernon also said to WYEP-FM that this is the first time he has enjoyed promoting one of his albums because he previously kept fairly quiet and busy with obligations like tour planning. But, for this album, he’s “actually had fun and leaned into the fact that it’s an opportunity to make more art and just be kind of coy and funny and have a blast with it.” Vernon’s explanation explains how these random ideas of promotion came to be: He simply wanted to have fun.

I can’t help but admire Vernon’s eclectic choices, even if they initially confused me. Since Vernon has been involved with an extensive number of musical projects in between the band’s releases, notably during the six-year album hiatus leading up to “SABLE, fABLE,” it can be hard to pinpoint what is special about the newest Bon Iver project. In this time span, Vernon featured on both of Taylor Swift’s 2020 sister albums, released an album with Aaron Desner under the band name Big Red Machine, quietly released a collection of songs from different past projects through his other band DeYarmond Edison’s “Epoch” record, and featured on the cultural sensation that was Charli xcx’s “Brat and it’s completely different but also still brat” remix album. Just like the promotional methods of “SABLE, fABLE,” these non-Bon Iver endeavors seem to be fun artistic excursions for Vernon, though Bon Iver seems to remain his most prominent and loved project. 

In the “about” section of the band’s website, they straightforwardly state, “Bon Iver is an art project based in Wisconsin.” This seems to be the broad, singular definition of the band’s identity, allowing for both their creative evolution and for Vernon to promote “SABLE, fABLE” as he pleases without strict boundaries or confines.

Although I’m not quite sure what to make of Bon Iver’s recent promotional choices for “SABLE, fABLE,” I can confidently say that their music is as high-quality as it has ever been. The album itself works to combine the two eras of Bon Iver’s music, all the while providing new and improved themes and sounds. Justin Vernon may enjoy toying with different music projects and fun product collaborations, but Bon Iver is still the focused and evolving indie folk/pop band that it has always been.