#2 on the 2023 Bacon Top 31 — The National

January 30, 2024 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

First Two Pages of Frankenstein and Laugh Track by The National

The National are back near the top of the Top 31, surprising no one. Unbelievably, it’s been four years since they released their last album, the fantastic I Am Easy To Find, in 2019 (#6 that year). Granted, a lot of non-music stuff happened in those ensuing years (remember Covid?). Additionally, a lot of tangential work to The National came out during this period of “down time”: Taylor Swift’s Aaron Dessner-produced albums folklore and evermore came out in 2020 (#4 that year); lead singer Matt Berninger released his solo album, Serpentine Prison, that same year (#8); Aaron Dessner’s not-a-band-but-more-a-“project” collaboration with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver called Big Red Machine released How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last? in 2021 (#2)¹ 2022 was the only year in that four-year span that lacked music to fill the massive void left by having no new album by the National.

The band has made up for that time by releasing two great new albums in 2023, First Two Page of Frankenstein on April 28, and Laugh Track on September 18. These two albums more than make up for “lost” time. The band prepared us fans for Frankenstein by putting out four singles between January 18 and the album’s release three months later. Laugh Track, on the other hand, was a complete surprise (aside from the inclusion of Bon Iver collaboration, “Weird Goodbyes,” which was originally released in August 2022).

The National have been long-time staples here on the Bacon Review. Including the albums mentioned above, they’ve always produced music that has been in my Top 10: Sleep Well Beast was #4 in 2017, Trouble Will Find Me was #2 in 2013, and High Violet inadvertently prevented all future albums from defaulting into the top spot by being #1 in 2010.

Where Easy To Find was a true departure for the band, seeing Berlinger relinquish the lead-singer role to a bevy of female guest stars on a number of songs, Frankenstein and Laugh Track are a return to form, quintessential National albums. There are some repeat guest stars here (the aforementioned Justin Vernon, and Sufjan Stevens), and some new great ones as well. Phoebe Bridgers sings beautiful harmonies on three songs across the two albums. Rosanne Cash shows up on “Crumble” from Laugh Track. And by far the biggest name, the Taylor Swift, joins Berlinger on the absolutely perfect duet called “The Alcott” on Frankenstein. After having spent a long time singing the Vernon/Swift duet “Exile” from her album folklore, I am glad my 6-year-old daughter and I have a Berninger/Swift duet to sink our teeth into for Car Karaoke²

Check out the video above, for “Your Mind is Not Your Friend,” one of the songs Phoebe Bridgers is on. The band have released a number of other nice music videos from the two albums, but this one, directed by Bridgers’ brother Jackson, really gets to the heart of what makes the band special. Over National-trademarked Sad Dad lyrics about trying to pull yourself out of depression, Matt Berninger and his brother Tom cavort around comically. Tom shows the depressive side of Matt’s lyrics literally, moping around and being sad, and Matt portrays the happy side of his brain, with flowers attached to his suit as he leads Tom around a park playground. Bridgers makes a brief appearance, appearing in the playground to take her character’s baby away from the grown men playing on the structures. That’s The National to a tee: cathartic depression. And that’s why I love them.

You can watch the rest of the videos they’ve released, too:

“Eucalyptus”
“Dreaming”
“Laugh Track” featuring Phoebe Bridgers
“Alphabet City”
“Deep End (Paul’s in Pieces)”
“Space Invader”

These are The National’s ninth and tenth albums in 24 years. It is now officially impossible to say any one of those albums is their best, as the answer will shift from day to day. No other band in my lifetime has been able to put out as much consistently great music as these five men have. Every new album they put out, I feel “whelp, this must be it, no way they can keep up this pace,” and every time I’m proven wrong. Who knows what’s next for the band? Whatever it is, it will be amazing.

^{1. Dessner produced Ed Sheeran’s 2023 album, _–_ (otherwise known as “Subtract”), which I’m listening to for the first time as I’m writing these words – too late to include in the Top 31, and too early to say if I would have even tried to include it. If it’s anything like his collaboration with Taylor Swift, I’ll have made a huge mistake not hearing it earlier. (Update – still listening, but struggling. In Swift’s Dessner-produced albums, there’s an easily recognizable Dessner influence. Despite him having touched every song on Sheeran’s album, Ed’s voice and lyrics pull things far enough away from anything related to The National that I lose the thread entirely.)↩}
^{2. If you want a real thrill as a parent, sing fantastic songs as a duet with them on repeat while driving around town. Rarely can I get through “The Alcott” with my daughter without choking up.↩}

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#6 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Sharon Van Etten

January 26, 2023 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

We've Been Going About This All Wrong by Sharon Van Etten

It’s been three years since we last heard from Sharon Van Etten on the Top 31. Her fifth album, a tour de force called Remind Me Tomorrow, was #5 in 2019. Five years prior to that, the fantastic Are We There was #4 in 2014. Go back two more years and you’ll find her third album, the Aaron Dessner-produced Tramp, at #13 in 2012. And now with her sixth album, We’ve Been Going About This All Wrong, is here at #6.

With four albums in the Top 31 over the last 12 years, she is the most decorated woman on the Top 31, a fantastic achievement by any measure, but a somewhat dubious and shameful honor for me personally. Van Etten’s first two albums, Because I Was in Love, and epic, both came out in 2009 and 2010, just as the Bacon Review was getting started, and my head was in a different space then. In my review of Tomorrow I wrote “In the beginning, the Top 31 was a lot more subconsciously, and therefore outwardly, male-centric.” What an understatement. Out of the 31 artists featured in the Top 31 in 2009, only five bands with female singers made the list. 2010 had three, if I stretch a little and qualify Belle & Sebastian. 2011: two. One year like that, it’s an anomaly. Two, it’s an interesting bit of problematic trivia. But three (and I stopped counting there; it’s likely even more years than that) and it’s a pandemic of aural blindness.

Last year, the number had gotten up 13. More respectable, but still not quite half. By the time this year’s Top 31 is done, I’ll have charted 19 albums that feature lead singers that are women. I didn’t enact some level of overt corrective measure, or create some artificial level or number that had to be filled by woman-led bands. I just charted what I truly loved this year. There has a been a definitive, quantifiable shift in my taste in music over the last 14 years. I don’t deserve notoriety for this achievement, but that won’t stop me from feeling a little bit better about my own personal balance.

At this point, the quality of Van Etten’s output is so great, it’ll be a surprise if she ever produces something that doesn’t fall into the Top 10. In the three-year void between Tomorrow and All Wrong, her 2nd album, 2010’s Epic, hit its 10th anniversary. To mark the occasion, Van Etten released a new deluxe version of the album (naturally called epic Ten) that included a track-for-track remake by various artists, including Bacon Review stalwarts Big Red Machine (#13 in 2018 and #2 in 2021), Idles (#16 in 2018 and #24 in 2020), Courtney Barnett (#5 in 2015, #8 in 2018, and #5 in 2021) and Fiona Apple (#1 in 2012 and #2 in 2020). When your career affords you the ability to gather Bon Iver, Courtney Barnett, and Fiona Apple to cover your own songs and release it as a bonus to your own reissued album, you know you’ve made an impact on people. My love of her music is well documented, but clearly there is no question as to her greatness.

In addition to my personal favorite from the album, “Mistakes,” shown in the video above, Van Etten has released a number of videos of songs from the album:

“Headspace”
“Used To It”
“Porta” (which also has a “making of”)

Get your hands on We've Been Going About This All Wrong. It is stellar, start to finish. Even if you’ve not connected with her music to date, give this one a full chance to sink in. You will not be disappointed.

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7. SOS by SZA
8. Wet Leg by Wet Leg
9. Chloë and the Next 20th Century by Father John Misty
10. Big Time by Angel Olsen
11. Ants From Up There by Black Country, New Road
12. Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder To the Sky by Porridge Radio
13. I Walked with You a Ways by Plains
14. The Last Goodbye by Odesza
15. A Light for Attracting Attention by The Smile
16. Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar
17. Inside Problems by Andrew Bird
18. Laurel Hell by Mitski
19. Full Moon Project by Phosphorescent
20. Skinty Fia by Fontaines D.C.
21. I Love You Jennifer B by Jockstrap
22. Too Much to Ask by Cheekface
23. Dripfield by Goose
24. Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You by Big Thief
25. And In The Darkness, Hearts Aglow by Weyes Blood
26. NOT TiGHT by DOMi & JD BECK
27. Preacher’s Daughter by Ethel Cain
28. Live at KEXP, vol. 10 by Various Artists
29. All You Need Is Time by Daisy the Great
30. Cool It Down by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
31. CAPRISONGS by FKA twigs

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#11 on the 2022 Bacon Top 31 — Black Country, New Road

January 21, 2023 by Royal Stuart in Top 31

Ants From Up There by Black Country, New Road

My guess is that this may be the last surprise of the 2022 Top 31. Sure, you might be surprised by the order in which I place my Top 10, or you might be surprised to find your particular favorite wasn’t one of mine. But I would be surprised if you don’t read the Top 10 as they’re revealed over the next ten days, nod your head at each one, and think “yep, ok, I can see that.”

Not so for Black Country, New Road, here at #11, which you’ve likely not ever heard of, despite some modest level of critical acclaim. And if you have heard of them, then you no doubt know why I’m placing them way up in my top albums of 2022. Known as BC,NR because, well, it’s a lot easier to write and it’s also awesome to have a comma in an abbreviation, the band met in Cambridgeshire, England, in 2018. They named themselves after the subject found at a click of the “random article” button in Wikipedia: Black Country New Road, a street in the West Midlands. Ants From Up There is their second album, recorded with seven members: Tyler Hyde (bass), Lewis Evans (flute, saxophone), May Kershaw (keyboards), Georgia Ellery (violin), Charlie Wayne (drums), Luke Mark (guitar), all of whom played their instruments deftly while singing backup to frontman, guitarist, and principal lyricist Isaac Wood.

Wood’s voice is low, with a vibrato that makes your subs shake — not quite as low as Ian Curtis, not quite as smooth as Justin Vernon, but every bit engaging. His lyrics have a literary lilt to them that don’t quite paint a story, but lead you to the next word, verse, and chorus as if compelled by tendrils of sound. And much to everyone detriment, there will be no more BC,NR albums with Wood at the helm. Four days before the release of Ants, Wood and the band announced on Instagram that he would be stepping away from the band, from the limelight, permanently. His mental health had been suffering greatly, and he needed to take care of himself.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Black Country, New Road (@blackcountrynewroad)

I first heard the album probably a week or so after it debuted on February 4, 2022. It filled me with such excitement, when I first started trying to learn more about the band I was devastated to find the post above and learn I’d never be able to experience the excitement Wood brings to the stage. I listened more and more to Ants over the coming months, and hit a point where I couldn’t put the album down. Pulling from the same influences as Beirut, Neutral Milk Hotel, the Decemberists, Slint, Noah and the Whale, BC,NR bring together heavy orchestration, ivy league intelligence, and prog-rock turns that leave you breathless. This is the album you need to fill the Arcade Fire-sized void left behind because of Win Butler’s sexual misconduct.

You’ll recognize violinist Georgia Ellery’s name, as she is one-half of Jockstrap, featured at #21 just 11 days ago. I’m pretty sure that’s the first time an artist has been an integral part of two separate bands featured on a single Top 31. When Wood announced his departure on January 31, the band had to cancel their upcoming tour and weren’t sure where this would lead them. A few months later, they had picked themselves back up and were touring again, now as a six-piece, with Hyde, Kershaw, Evans, and Wayne taking turns on lead vocals. I have not been able to see this incarnation of the band, but the strength of these songs and these musicians makes me believe it’s still every bit as strong.

Ants came out a year after those original seven band members released their debut, For The First Time, in February, 2021. I missed their debut, and based on how much I love Ants, a fairly sizable oversight on my part. I’m curious to see where the band will go next. I enjoy the Wood incarnation of the band, and am patiently waiting to see what the band will put together next. “Concord,” shown in the video above, is probably my favorite song on the album. But if you like it, I encourage you to explore the rest of the album.

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#2 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — Big Red Machine

January 30, 2022 by Royal Stuart

How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? by Big Red Machine

Every year there’s the big obvious acts that continually appear on the Top 31. At the top of that list are both The National and Bon Iver, both of whom have had #1 albums (2010 and 2016) along with three additional, separate appearances on the Top 31 each. In fact, I haven’t done the math, but I’m confident in saying that Aaron Dessner (20% of The National) and Justin Vernon (99% of Bon Iver), combined, have been responsible for the largest percentage of all music I’ve listened to in the last 15 years.

The two of them have done many things together, arguably the most prominent being the work they’ve done together as Big Red Machine. Their first foray into a partnership was a collaborative song called “Big Red Machine” on the Dessner-produced Dark Was the Night compilation in 2009 (#10 that inaugural Top 31 year). According to wikipedia, Dessner reached out to Vernon via MySpace, and they collaborated on the song remotely, and didn’t meet in person until a follow-on performance for the collaboration was hosted later that year. They continued to work together while producing and creating with their respective bands. They formed a record label, 37d03d, which released the first full Big Red Machine album in 2018 (self-titled, #13 that year). In addition to Dessner and Vernon, that album also features Phoebe Bridgers, Dessner’s brother Bryce and Bryan Devendorf from The National, and multi-instrumentalist Richard Parry from Arcade Fire, among many others.

Then they turned their attention to Taylor Swift, or many she turned her attention to them. The two albums that came out of their collaboration had a big impact on my 2020 Top 31, coming in collectively at #4 last year. But Swift is not the only Dessner/Vernon produced artist I’ve enjoyed. From the very first Top 31 in 2009, with the aforementioned Dark Was the Night compilation and Bon Iver’s Blood Bank EP, there have been only two years (2014 and 2015) that one or both Vernon and Dessner did not appear on the Top 31 as performer or producer. Sharon van Etten, Local Natives, Frightened Rabbit, Taylor Swift, Kanye West — they’ve all benefited from the magic touch of Aaron Dessner and/or Justin Vernon in the last 15 years.

There were also a couple of Big Red Machine singles to come out in 2020 that haven’t appeared on any albums: “No Time For Love Like Now” with Michael Stipe, and a get-out-the-vote in Wisconsin cover of Aimee Mann’s “Wise Up” featuring 4 of out 5 members of The National and others.

And now we’re finally up to the present, with How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last?, the supergroup’s 2nd full-length album under the Big Red Machine name. The album features a daunting list of guest appearances: Taylor Swift on two songs, James Krivchenia of Big Thief, Anaïs Mitchell on three songs, Ilsey (a prolific singer/songwriter who has written for and sung with a dizzying number of artists you’ve heard of), Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, Naeem (otherwise known as rapper Spank Rock), a song called “Hutch,” dedicated to the lost-too-soon lead singer of Frightened Rabbit, Scott Hutchison, featuring Sharon van Etten, Lisa Hannigan, and Shara Nova (lead singer of My Brightest Diamond), La Force (aka Ariel Engle of Broken Social Scene), Ben Howard, and This is the Kit (Kate Stables).

Whew.

There are many highlights to this album (as there should be for a #2 album of the year). The Robin Pecknold / Anaïs Mitchell sung “Phoenix,” shown in the lyric video above, is my personal favorite (mostly because it’s the favorite of 4-year-old, who demanded I play that song over and over again throughout the summer of 2021). But even the most stripped down songs, such as the two where Aaron Dessner finally takes the spotlight all by himself, playing guitar and singing on “The Ghost of Cincinnati” and “Magnolia” in what can only be described as his best Elliott Smith impersonation. The Taylor Swift collaboration “Renegade” is a poppy, Swiftian jaunt you’ll love – it could have easily been created for Swift’s 2020 albums folklore or evermore.

It’s hard not to look at How Long as the capper of one hell of a musical decade for Dessner and Vernon. There’s no way that either of them is done making music. But if you look at the arc of U2, R.E.M., or The Stones, now is about the time in their respective careers that the drive to create something new and different clashes with the desire to slow down, spend more time with family, and rely heavily on the income from previous hits rather than create something new and earth shattering. Selfishly, I hope they choose a different path and continue to give us everything they’ve got. We’ll find out soon enough – 2022 is a new year, and maybe there’ll be another Bon Iver or National album, or some new Dessner- or Vernon-produced project that will simply blow us all away. I can’t wait.

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3. Jubilee by Japanese Breakfast
4. A Way Forward by Nation of Language
5. Things Take Time, Take Time by Courtney Barnett
6. Little Oblivions by Julien Baker
7. Valentine by Snail Mail
8. sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications

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#4 on the 2020 Bacon Top 31 — Taylor Swift

January 28, 2021 by Royal Stuart

folklore + evermore by Taylor Swift

If I were to allow myself a quick indulgence in forgetting the shit ton of god awful shit that happened, 2020 would go down as “The Biggest, Most Exciting Year For a Fan of The National That Doesn’t Feature a New Album by The National.” Not only was there the phenomenal debut solo release by lead singer Matt Berninger (Serpentine Prison, at #8), there were not one but two wholly-unexpected Aaron Dessner-produced and co-written jaw-droppingly good Taylor Swift albums, albums that could easily be called The National albums but with Swift slotted in for Berninger.

I would find it unbelievable if you told me you didn’t know Swift had released a couple albums in 2020. It’s impossible to be that in the dark that you somehow avoided hearing about the best selling album of 2020 (folklore set so many records upon its release on July 24, and it ended the year atop many best-of lists) and its sister album (evermore, released on December 11, may yet set records for sales in 2021, even if it will be out of contention for the critical year-end lists). But I can’t blame you if you discounted it outright, simply for being a couple of Taylor Swift albums. Well, I’m here to tell you that you’ve been thoroughly missing out. These albums are two of the most approachable, exciting, and universally-appealing records you’ll ever experience.

Swift was meant to team up with Dessner (guitarist, producer, and co-writer for The National, who have appeared on numerous Top 31s in the past, as well as one-half — with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver — of Big Red Machine, who appeared at #13 in 2018). Her personal, intimately written stories told in rhyming couplets and double entendres layer beautifully on Dessner’s musical tapestry. If you remove Swift’s words and voice from these songs, these are The National songs. It’s abundantly clear who drives the sounds of their albums. Then you add in Swift’s poetry and voice, and it’s almost too much for one person to handle.

folklore was a huge hit in our house from the day it was released. My family loved it as much as I did, including the youngest of us. Only two at the time of release, my toddler loves to proclaim “You know this song!” whenever she hears any song she’s heard more than once. We heard her say that a lot when we’d put it on. But when she got even more comfortable with it, demanding “Again!” at the end of the album’s best song (“Exile,” one of two duets Swift has with Bon Iver on the albums), and then started quietly singing the words from the song on top of Vernon and Swift… ouch my heart. Hearing my three-year old daughter singing “I never learned to read your mind, I couldn’t turn things around, ’cause you never gave a warning sign” will stick with me forever.

I’ve written so much about The National over the years, but I’ve not ever written about Taylor Swift, so let’s dive into how amazing she is for a minute. The woman has been producing music professionally since 2006, when she was only 17 years old. In the ensuing 14-year span, she’s put out 9 albums and a ton more EPs and single, all of which have sold over 227 million copies, good enough for #10 on the all-time list for most copies sold by any artist, ever. She’s won 10 Grammy Awards, an Emmy, and has set seven Guinness World Records, including “Biggest-Selling Album Worldwide For A Solo Artist” for her 2019 album Lover.

She is the perfect embodiment of female empowerment, and speaks out for herself, gun control, women’s rights, Black Lives Matter, LGBT rights and gender and racial equality, and the importance of voting. And she speaks out against white supremacy, systemic racism, and police brutality, all with an impeccable wardrobe and smile. On top of that, she’s picked up where Prince left off with his struggles against the leech-like record labels that suck every last dollar out of the artistic rights of their recording artists. She has publicly, continually, vehemently battled her record label for the ownership of her master recordings. Failing that, she’s decided to simply re-record all of her old recordings, no doubt making them better in the process and rendering the old masters all but worthless. “Commendable” doesn‘t even begin to define Taylor Swift.

All of that history makes the creation of folklore and evermore all that more astonishing. WIthout the pandemic-induced lockdowns, I don’t believe these records would have happened at all. Rather than being on a worldwide tour (that was supposed to begin in April), she set to recording new music. A few months of absolute chaos later, and she delivers the nicest care package imaginable.

These songs are without fault, and are infinitely listenable. The video above, which Swift directed, for her song “Cardigan” from the first album is not my favorite (see “Exile,” mentioned above), but even the worst song on the album is world’s better than 99% of what came out in 2020. The companion song from the second album, “Willow,” also has a Swift-directed video that starts exactly where the first video left off, and it’s not my favorite, either. For that, I’ll point you to the Justin Vernon co-produced song “Closure,” which doesn‘t feature Vernon’s succulent voice, but does feature key Bon Iver sounds and digitization, such as when he pushes Swift’s voice through his Messina – the vocal modifier that featured prominently on his 2016 Top 31 #1 album 22, A Million.

It’s clear I could keep gushing about these albums for much more — I’m finding myself striving to read all the background material out there (of which there is plenty, of course) to repurpose and regurgitate for you, dear reader. But I’ll stop here, and just tell you to listen, and then seek out the additional material yourself. There are deluxe versions and pared down versions and accompanying films and and and… The Taylor Swift machine is in high gear, per usual, but this time around I truly care, and I’m excited to see where she goes next. I hope there’s at least a few of you out there that I’ve convinced to listen to these records if you haven’t already. And for those of you that were as surprised as I was to find yourself in love with a couple of Taylor Swift albums in 2020, I’d love to hear from you about your experiences with the albums. Do reach out!

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1. Saint Cloud by Waxahatchee
2. Fetch The Bolt Cutters by Fiona Apple
3. Punisher by Phoebe Bridgers
4. folklore + evermore by Taylor Swift
5. Untitled (Black Is) + Untitled (Rise) by Sault
6. RTJ4 by Run The Jewels
7. Shore by Fleet Foxes
8. Serpentine Prison by Matt Berninger
9. The Ascension by Sufjan Stevens
10. Making a Door Less Open by Car Seat Headrest
11. Dreamland by Glass Animals
12. A Hero’s Death by Fontaines D.C.
13. Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez by Gorillaz
14. Mordechai + Texas Sun EP by Khruangbin
15. Introduction, Presence by Nation of Language
16. Free Love by Sylvan Esso
17. Miss Anthropocene by Grimes
18. 3.15.20 by Childish Gambino
19. Women In Music Pt. III by HAIM
20. The Third Mind by The Third Mind
21. Superstar by Caroline Rose
22. Impossible Weight by Deep Sea Diver
23. We Will Always Love You by The Avalanches
24. Ultra Mono by IDLES
25. Visions of Bodies Being Burned by clipping.
26. Thin Mind by Wolf Parade
27. The Loves of Your Life by Hamilton Leithauser
28. Palo Alto (Live) by Thelonious Monk
29. color theory by Soccer Mommy
30. Fall to Pieces by Tricky
31. Quarantine Casanova by Chromeo

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#9 on the 2019 Bacon Top 31 — Bon Iver

January 23, 2020 by Royal Stuart

i,i by Bon Iver

Justin Vernon, the driving force behind Bon Iver, has been a personal favorite of mine since his debut album For Emma, Forever Ago was released back in 2007. Every one of his releases has been on the Top 31 since the list’s inception (his Blood Bank EP was #17 in 2009, the self-titled Bon Iver was #6 in 2011, and his 2016 album, 22, A Million, was at the top of the list that year and is most definitely in my top 30-50 albums of all time, but I’ve never put that list to paper).

i,i, his fourth full-length album, is yet another beautiful feather in Vernon’s cap. With its release, Bon Iver has reached potential “greatest band” status according to my and my good friend Morgan’s self-imposed rule that governs such things: an artist must have four top-rated albums to qualify for such vaunted categorization. The fact that it’s his first four albums is a feat rarely achieved in music at any time, let alone in modern day. In trying to think of another band’s initial four albums that can be rated in the same way, my mind has to go all the way back to Led Zeppelin I-IV to find a similar stretch of greatness. Nearly unprecedented. As I’m writing this, I’m probably going to regret ranking i,i at #9. Bon Iver’s albums tend to surprise me in their longevity. I may have listened to other bands’ output more in 2019, but it’s probably i,i that I’ll be reaching for regularly in five years time.

The album features an impressive list of collaborators. The band itself has a larger roster than on previous albums: Justin Vernon on vocals, keyboards, guitar; Sean Carey on drums, keyboards, vocals; Matthew McCaughan on drums, vocals; Michael Lewis on bass, saxophone, keyboards, vocals; Andrew Fitzpatrick on guitar, keyboards, vocals; and Jenn Wasner on guitar, vocals. Additionally, James Blake, Aaron Dessner, and Bruce Hornsby all feature prominently across the album.

The songs themselves feel in keeping with 22, a million, but more deconstructed, as if the band picked up the blips, bloops, and blorks from the proverbial cutting room floor and reassembled them into a compelling whole. “Hey, Ma” is the highlight of the production, followed quickly by “U (Man Like)”. Taken out of context, these two songs feel like they could easily have come from a long-lost Bruce Hornsby album. I would have never in a million years drawn a line from Hornsby (he of “The Way It Is” with his band The Range) to Iver, if not for the fact that Hornsby is actually on this album. Knowing that fact, it’s impossible to not see his influence, in the best way possible.

I’m blown away by Vernon’s consistency and departures across his four albums. If you were a fan of 22, a million then you’ll love this new Bon Iver album. Check it out as soon as you can.

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10. Kiwanuka by Michael Kiwanuka
11. The Destroyer (Parts 1 + 2) by TR/ST
12. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish
13. Cheap Queen by King Princess
14. Anima by Thom Yorke
15. Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Parts 1 + 2 by Foals
16. Gallipoli by Beirut
17. My Finest Work Yet by Andrew Bird
18. Four of Arrows by Great Grandpa
19. Designer by Aldous Harding
20. Norman Fucking Rockwell! by Lana Del Rey
21. Our Pathetic Age by DJ Shadow
22. Juice B Crypts by Battles
23. Pony by Orville Peck
24. Hyperspace by Beck
25. Eraserland by Strand of Oaks
26. Dogrel by Fontaines DC
27. You’re the Man by Marvin Gaye
28. Big Wows by Stealing Sheep
29. 1000 gecs by 100 gecs
30. In the Morse Code of Brake Lights by The New Pornographers
31. Radiant Dawn by Operators

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2009-2018 Top 31s

#13 on the 2018 Bacon Top 31 — Big Red Machine

January 19, 2019 by Royal Stuart

2018 came and went without another #1 album by The National or Bon Iver, but it did produce something almost as good: the best “The National collaborates with another group” collaboration album yet. Introducing Big Red Machine, the self-titled debut album from Justin Vernon (aka Mr. Bon Iver) and Aaron Dessner (lead music writer for The National).

It’s almost as if Vernon and Dessner sat down and said “let’s make a Radiohead album.” Blending digital artifacts and hypnotic beats, subtle orchestration and keyboards, and an affected falsetto floating over the top, this is the best Radiohead album the band never made. Don’t get me wrong, I love Bon Iver and The National, and I love what Vernon and Dessner have done together. I’m pretty sure this album was made just for me. At times quiet and wispy, it draws you in like only the best novel can. Then, suddenly, it’s punctuated by staccato rhythms and nonsensical lyrics that cause you to sit up straight in your chair.

Dessner and Vernon’s collaboration started during the making of Dark Was The Night, the amazing Red Hot compilation album that the Dessner brothers assembled back in 2009 (#10 that year), when Dessner apparently cold-messaged Vernon on MySpace, having never met before. The two artists met for the first time at the Radio City Music Hall event surrounding the Dark Was The Night album (and featured in the video on the link of that #10 album in 2009). It took them nine years and collaborating in many ways on many things (including starting a project called PEOPLE, from which this album is by far the biggest output to date).

Yes, the project is named after the 1970’s Cincinnati Reds teams that won the World Series four times in seven years. The Dessner brothers grew up in Cincinnati, and were born right smack dab in the middle of that run (1976). If you even remotely like Bon Iver or the National, or Radiohead for that matter, then you’ll like this album. Perhaps you’ve not heard of it; thankfully your drought is now over.

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14. I’ll Be Your Girl by The Decemberists
15. The More I Sleep the Less I Dream by We Were Promised Jetpacks
16. Joy as an Act of Resistance by IDLES
17. Hell-On by Neko Case
18. Superorganism by Superorganism
19. Living in Extraordinary Times by James
20. Thank You for Today by Death Cab for Cutie
21. Black Panther: The Album by Kendrick Lamar
22. Suspiria (Music for the Luca Guadagnino Film) by Thom Yorke
23. Merrie Land by The Good, the Bad & the Queen
24. Room 25 by Noname
25. WARM by Jeff Tweedy
26. God's Favorite Customer by Father John Misty
27. Vessel by Frankie Cosmos
28. For Ever by Jungle
29. Twerp Verse by Speedy Ortiz
30. Remain in Light by Angélique Kidjo
31. This One’s for the Dancer & This One’s for the Dancer’s Bouquet by Moonface

Subscribe to the 2018 Bacon Top 31 Apple Music playlist
2009-2017 Top 31s

#1 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

January 12, 2017 by Royal Stuart

22, A Million by Bon Iver

Yep, Bon Iver. Good ol’ Justin Vernon finds himself atop the 2016 Bacon Top 31, with his stellar, jaw dropping third LP 22, A Million. This album is Bon Iver’s Kid A. I remember that feeling, back in 2000 — after having had that magical moment where Radiohead’s OK Computer just *clicked* a couple years prior, and I began defining the musical world as “Radiohead above all else” — and played Kid A for the first time and thought “What the FUCK is this?” Then I listened to it again. And again. And probably didn’t stop for the rest of the year. That’s exactly how it went for this new Bon Iver album.

This is an amazing record. It’s over-the-top use of autotune (as I said when reviewing Blonde at #4, this is The Year of the Autotune) is arresting until you’ve heard the album for the fourth of fifth time and you realize it’s magical.

Vernon has a spot-on falsetto — it’s his signature voice — and of course it’s featured prominently here, run through many layers of digital filters and fuzz, to create something wholly unique. I encourage you to watch this live performance from December (thank you NPR!), to watch Vernon make these sounds on the fly. It’s a marvel to watch, and it blows me away he’s able to accomplish it all live, on stage.

Bon Iver has been on the Top 31 only twice, for his 2nd LP, Bon Iver, Bon Iver, at #6 back in 2011, and his Blood Bank EP at #17 back in the very first Top 31, in 2009. His first album, For Emma, Forever Ago, from 2008, would definitely have been on the countdown. It’s a masterpiece of a different sort. But for me, 22, A Million is his best work to date. I’m going to listen to this album for many many many years to come.

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2. Visions of Us On the Land by Damien Jurado
3. A Moon Shaped Pool by Radiohead
4. Blonde by Frank Ocean
5. Are You Serious by Andrew Bird
6. Lemonade by Beyoncé
7. Teens of Denial by Car Seat Headrest
8. Goodness by The Hotelier
9. The Mountain Will Fall by DJ Shadow
10. Junun by Shye Ben Tzur, Jonny Greenwood & The Rajasthan Express
11. The Hope Six Demolition Project by PJ Harvey
12. Amen & Goodbye by Yeasayer
13. Sea of Noise by St. Paul & The Broken Bones
14. You Want It Darker by Leonard Cohen
15. Painting Of A Panic Attack by Frightened Rabbit
16. Why Are You OK by Band Of Horses
17. Not To Disappear by Daughter
18. Sunlit Youth by Local Natives
19. I Had a Dream That You Were Mine by Hamilton Leithauser + Rostam
20. ★ by David Bowie
21. Farewell, Starlite! by Francis and the Lights
22. This Unruly Mess I’ve Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
23. LNZNDRF by LNZNDRF
24. Puberty 2 by Mitski
25. Light Upon the Lake by Whitney
26. A Corpse Wired for Sound by Merchandise
27. Away by Okkervil River
28. case/lang/veirs by case/lang/veirs
29. Love Letter for Fire by Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
30. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future by Underworld
31. Preoccupations by Preoccupations

#21 on the 2016 Bacon Top 31

December 11, 2016 by Royal Stuart

Farewell, Starlite! by Francis and the Lights

I didn’t discover this album until five days ago, even though it came out in September. I’d had a different album for this spot until I realized it was disqualified due to it having come out in November (putting it into the time frame for next year’s Top 31). So I was glad that this album came along, and I’m glad it’s powerful enough to show up here, at #21.

Francis and the Lights is a man who had his name legally changed to Francis Farewell Starlite. While Starlite has been performing as Francis and the Lights in front of as well as behind the mic since 2007, Farewell, Starlite! is his debut album. And it’s full of auto-tuned goodness. It’s dancey and poppy and makes me feel good inside. There’s not much more I can say about it.

Be sure to watch the video above, for the song “Friends.” It features Kanye West and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, along with Starlite, who dances like an idiot before joining in lockstep with Vernon in a jokey little choreographed routine. It’s brilliant in it’s silliness.

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22. This Unruly Mess I’ve Made by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
23. LNZNDRF by LNZNDRF
24. Puberty 2 by Mitski
25. Light Upon the Lake by Whitney
26. A Corpse Wired for Sound by Merchandise
27. Away by Okkervil River
28. case/lang/veirs by case/lang/veirs
29. Love Letter for Fire by Sam Beam & Jesca Hoop
30. Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future by Underworld
31. Preoccupations by Preoccupations

August 07, 2013 by Royal Stuart

The whole time I’m listening to this song by Volcano Choir I’m thinking to myself “They really found a guy that sounds like Justin Vernon — Bon Iver — for their lead singer.”

Turns out…

Their album Repave comes out September 3.

(An aside: the idea behind the video is pretty great, but it gets a bit tired by the end of the song. A great idea, executed poorly.)

April 03, 2013 by Royal Stuart

Hmmm. And now: the Flaming Lips with Bon Iver in a NSFW video for “Ashes In The Air” from last year’s collaboration album …and Heady Fwends. No words.

December 26, 2011 by Royal Stuart

#6 on the 2011 Musical Bacon Calendar

Bon Iver, Bon Iver by Bon Iver

Bon Iver’s second album falls into a special category I affectionately call “airplane music.” This is not a bad thing, but a somewhat coveted spot in my music library. You could also call this category “music to sleep to,” but I never listen to music while sleeping at home any more. Only on airplanes, when I’m looking to drown out the drone of the plane and the inane chatter of the great unwashed. Up to this point, the category only had one band in it: Sigur Rós. So Bon Iver is now in good company.

Saying this album is good to sleep to doesn’t give a good sense of what it’s like to listen to the album. It’s lush, moreso than anything else you’ve heard this year. Layer upon layer of sound, from horns, strings, guitars and multiple voices (usually falsetto) all expertly blended together into a pillowy bed of cashmere.

At its heart, Bon Iver is Justin Vernon. Where his first album, For Emma, Forever Ago was mainly just Vernon performing alone, Bon Iver, Bon Iver is much more of a collaboration, allowing for much more experimentation with sound. Much like Radiohead’s The King of Limbs, Bon Iver invites the listener to push their ears even closer to the speaker, to turn up the sound to the loudest possible level, so as to hear everything that each song entails.

Bon Iver came through the Paramount Theater here in Seattle in late September, and played a sold-out performance on the beautiful stage there. Vernon brought 8 or more musicians with him (I did count them, but I didn’t write about the show and my memory is failing me, here, 3 months later), and the performance was nothing less than extraordinary. Much like Sigur Rós, the quieter, more involved tracks that force people to listen with intent make for an unbelievable show. And then when the powerful guitar choruses come in, with the lights blaring, you’re forced to rise up in your chair and take notice. It was truly the best.

This album takes a few listens to sink in — don’t abandon it after the first listen. In fact, you can hear the whole album before you buy it by watching the series of videos the band put together for the ten songs on the album. The video above, for “Michicant” is part of that series, all of which is available on YouTube. There’s plenty here to enjoy, and much more to discover even after you’ve heard it 10 times. Pick it up, then watch yourself not be able to put it down.

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7. The King of Limbs by Radiohead
8. Bad As Me by Tom Waits
9. Helplessness Blues by Fleet Foxes
10. The Youth Die Young by Mad Rad
11. Last Night On Earth by Noah and the Whale
12. Codes and Keys by Death Cab For Cutie
13. Valley of the Headless Men by Ravenna Woods
14. Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by Beastie Boys
15. James Blake by James Blake
16. Hysterical by Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
17. An Argument with Myself by Jens Lekman
18. The Whole Love by Wilco
19. My Goodness by My Goodness
20. My Head is an Animal by Of Monsters and Men
21. Gloss Drop by Battles
22. Showroom of Compassion by CAKE
23. A New Kind of House EP by Typhoon
24. EP by Grouplove
25. Fan Chosen Covers (Best of) by Eef Barzelay
26. TKOL RMX 1234567 by Radiohead
27. Organ Music Not Virbraphone Like I’d Hoped by Moonface
28. Heavy Boots & Underwoods by Ben Fisher
29. The Rip Tide by Beirut
30. Collapse Into Now by R.E.M.
31. I Am Very Far by Okkervil River

What the hell is the Musical Bacon Calendar?