User Score
Universal acclaim- based on 348 Ratings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 309 out of 348
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Mixed: 27 out of 348
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Negative: 12 out of 348
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Jan 9, 2022Take everything that was so deeply charming about Bon Iver's debut, but add a bigger budget, a bigger band, and bigger ambition. The result? You get this album, a grandiose effort that brings, again, a lot of love to unpack into lonely souls. What is so good about this self-titled project is that everything great about For Emma, Forever Ago gets amplified, and it's an amazing thing to achieve.
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Dec 6, 2021Akin to For Emma, Bon Iver breaks the listener's heart. And to experience an album (an oft-dreaded sophomore album, no less) that evokes such deep emotion is a welcomed pain.
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Sep 25, 2021One of the best albums ever. A spiritual, stirring, magical and gorgeous journey the whole way through.
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Apr 8, 2021A subtle, nuanced work that is beautiful to listen to and creates imagery with each sound.
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Jan 21, 2020Bon Iver's self entitled project is an intimate and endearing project. The instrumentals are gorgeously layered and nuanced. Justin Vernon's falsetto is the stuff of legend. It's complete and cohesive. An album that's combination of musicality and heart-piercing soul equates to a relatively clear and timeless classic.
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Aug 27, 2019Follow up on Justin Vernons amazing debut. Bon Iver continues to deliver beautiful songs. In many ways a more complex album than the debut and maybe not an instant classic (like the debut) but listen to it a few times and this fully delivers.
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May 22, 2019Justin Vernon continues to amaze as Bon Iver's frontman. Vernon's song writing remains impeccable while maintaining the gorgeous, intimate Bon Iver sound. Throughout the album, you can feel Vernon slowly painting a masterpiece in your mind as the album progresses.
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Jul 29, 2017Beauty. This is the world that summarize this album the best. The lyrics are as well written and intimate as FE,FA, the main difference with it is the instrumentation. BI feels like a big album, with its grandiose tracks (Perth, Calgary) and its intimate ones (Wash, Beth/Rest). The flow of the album is very good, and its short length make it easy to listen.
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Apr 12, 2017This is hand's down Bon Iver's best work. Every song is set on a personal level that speaks directly to the heart. Justin Vernon's words are unique, captivating, and symbolic.
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Jan 23, 2017Absolutely love Bon Iver's unconventional folk / alternative style and this album really shows his character and the type of subtle, ambient music that he's clearly an expert at creating. It's funny to think that this type of music was loved by even artists like Kanye, enough to include Bon Iver in Kanye's music.
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Nov 9, 2016
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Mar 7, 2016
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Jan 11, 2016This is such an important album to me. Lyrically, complex yet deeply personal. Justin struck gold. "Holocene" is the bands best. Fantastic balance of sound and so well strung together.
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Sep 22, 2015This review contains spoilers, click expand to view.
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May 30, 2015While it represents a new musical direction for Bon Iver, I feel that it was a mistake, changing most of the good aspects from the band's previous two albums into an over-produced mess.
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Mar 23, 2015Very difficult album to sit through in its entirety. Not because of any tediousness however, but simply because you have to keep replaying the last track...
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Apr 8, 2014This is an amazing album. It took me over a year to like it though. I had scored it 0. I couldnt get it. Stuck on a plane for too many hours and listening to it made me realise what i missed. Its epic.
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Apr 3, 2014It's still good, though. I really really love Bon Iver's music. However, this album just gives this impression that Justin Vernon was better off by himself.
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Oct 10, 2013This is a very easy review to write. Bon Iver has created another great album. The music of Bon Iver is possibly the best music in history, so that's all there is to say about it. Hope Justin Vernon comes out with more!
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Jun 21, 2013I originally gave this 9 but I had to come back and top up. I don't think I will ever get bored of this amazing collection of ethereal gems. I can't find a flaw with this record its become one my favourite albums ever. The songwriting here is second to none, if I had to pick favourite tracks then Holocene, Perth and Beth/Rest are beautiful, however so is every other track.
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Feb 20, 2013
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Jan 30, 2013
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Sep 9, 2012An absolute classic which only just falls short of being amongst the same pedigree of his earlier work.
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Aug 17, 2012
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Jul 31, 2012Bon Iver's second, self-titled release brings out warm, wintry, sipping-hot-cocoa-in-a-log-cabin feelings, but manages to balance them with fits of torrential emotion that is what truly defines the release. There is evidence of a matured artist here and their craft really speaks for itself.
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Feb 25, 2012Best album I've ever heard in my life..When I listened to this album, the first time was an orgasm, the second time i cried, then i cry everytime I listen to this album. Simply magic.
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Jan 25, 2012Bon Iver's sophomore album sounds like Justin Vernon coming out of the woods and out of the "For Emma, Forever Ago" stage. Bon Iver is officially a band that needs to be reckoned with. The instrumentals swoon on this album. Justin Vernon's falsetto is just as gorgeous, if not more, than For Emma. Bon Iver, Bon Iver may not be as fantastic as their debut album, but it's pretty damn close. A-
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Jan 12, 2012I don't get the fuss-over about this album. Seriously, it might have folk-based songs and good lyrics, but the last time I checked this mix wasn't supposed to become so boring. It has not a compelling theme like their debut, and Vernom's turned the weakness in a fake bravery. I hope they improve the results they had in this album.
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Jan 9, 2012
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Dec 30, 2011Bon Iver is far from being an accessible band. In fact, the first time you listen to their sophomore efforts, you may become very discouraged from their high falsettos. But once you get used to their old-school, light synth-heavy sounds, the album becomes increasingly enjoyable every time you listen to it. It's a surprisingly rewarding record that easily goes down as one of the bests from 2011.
Awards & Rankings
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Dec 15, 2011Bon Iver sounds distinctively matured and alive on Bon Iver: an album that even still, in the late winter, months after its release sounds magical.
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Sep 9, 2011In an industry flooded with trumpeted artists not worth their weight in salt, Bon Iver's abstract ruminations more than warrant the hype.
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Aug 3, 2011Akin to For Emma, Bon Iver breaks the listener's heart. And to experience an album (an oft-dreaded sophomore album, no less) that evokes such deep emotion is a welcomed pain.