Bon Iver's quasi-self-titled breakthrough album turns 10 in 2022, and the band are celebrating the milestone with this limited 10th anniversary edition pressing spread across two stark white LPs (the original album was a single disc) including 5 stripped down recordings from Justin Vernon's 4AD / Jagjaguwar session at AIR Studios around the time the album was released, on vinyl for the first time. The album is packaged in a newly redesigned embossed sleeve and includes an intimate personal essay by superfan Phoebe Bridgers on the album's resounding influence. Here's what we had to say about the original album when it was released:

Oh – now he’s got a Grammy. Justin Vernon, aka Bon Iver, emerged from the woods of Wisconsin a new man. His sophomore album would take on a more refined sound and next thing you know – boom – Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album of 2012. Isn’t success just the easiest? Vernon took a more collaborative approach to his second album, enlisting help from a range of talented musicians. The scale and scope of Vernon’s productions might have upgraded but his voice, the anchoring force for all his work, is as warm and personal as ever. “Halocene” is a great example of how his voice and diction are themselves an instrument. Tracks like “Hinnom, TX” and “Minnesota, WI” show the reach with which Vernon can take his music with added production value while keeping the somber mood he so expertly exudes. The open flows and opens up over time, bringing you deeper and deeper into Vernon’s psyche and ends with the atmospheric adventure “Beth/Rest” that (out of context) sounds miles apart from his last album. Emotionally candid and self-aware, Bon Iver just wants to wrap you up and keep you warm, so just submit.

• white colored double vinyl pressing
• includes 5 bonus tracks on vinyl for the first time
  
• newly redesigned embossed jacket w/ liner notes by Phoebe Bridgers
• printed inner sleeves
• limited edition
• original release year: 2012
• music label: Jagjaguwar 2022

reviewed by boumtje-boumtje 10/2014