Bon Iver - Hey Ma and U (Man Like)

So Bon Iver is finally releasing tracks for a new album and I'm personally quite excited. Let's have a look at what came out this morning - "Hey Ma" and "U (Man Like)".

Hey Ma

This track seems to be a continuation of a similar style to the ground-breaking "22, a Million", however this time it's a little more upbeat and pop-friendly. There's also elements that hark back to his earlier work, like how the drums are used in a sparing-yet-complex way.

Justin Vernon still manages to keep it sparse and rich at the same time, and that floaty synth is still present.

As a big fan of "22, a Million", I was really pleased on my first listen to Hey Ma. The symbol-rich video and 80's style synth pointed directly to that album. However, as I progressed through the track it started to pang more and more of Holocene and some Volcano Choir songs.

Apart from songs off of JV's previous album, there's really nothing I can compare this to. It's seems to be a tribute to his mum, which I find so sweet, and I immediately sent it to my own mum.

If you're going to introduce someone to "22, a Million"-era Bon Iver, I think it's a great track to start people with, and I look forward to what this album has in store for us.

U (Man Like)

On first listen to this track, it wasn't quite what I was expecting. The symbol-packed thumbnail for the video didn't give away a very-typically-gospel piano intro. I wasn't disappointed, just caught off guard.

The lyrics that seem to be a dialogue between men and women really strikes me. In a day when there's so many famous people being really sh*tty there's at least one good human in the limelight left.

The rest of the song seems to me (as someone who doesn't listen to much gospel) to be what I expect of a gospel song with a Bon Iver twist, namely the voicing on the melody. It's a very clean piano with more heavily edited vocals and some subtle samples thrown in for good measure.

If these tracks indicate anything for the new album, then I'm intrigued and waiting.