On February 23, Bon Iver announced the upcoming release of their first live album, “VOLUMES: ONE (SELECTIONS FROM MUSIC CONCERTS 2019-2023 BON IVER 6 PIECE BAND),” which dropped on April 3 as the first in a series of future live compilations. The album features board recordings from live shows during their last two tour runs (and also one track from way back in 2017), with most of the songs coming from their 2016 album “22, A Million” and 2019’s “i,i.” However, the album also includes the first official album release of the song HEAVENLY FATHER, a track that has been a part of the Bon Iver touring set list for years without getting a studio version, and which fans have been begging for a long with a slew of other unreleased tracks.
Bon Iver founder and frontman Justin Vernon said his main goal with this first album in the VOLUMES series was to be able to have an album to hand to someone “if I was showing them what I think Bon Iver is.” I would say it certainly achieves that goal, and it breaks from the stereotypical, sad man in a cabin vibe that people tend to associate with Bon Iver after their first two landmark albums, “For Emma, Forever Ago” and “Bon Iver, Bon Iver.”
In keeping with the direction of last year’s “SABLE, fABLE,” an album which began by harkening back to Bon Iver’s early days before turning in a new direction with a much lusher sound and more honest songwriting, “VOLUMES: ONE” is an honest and clear look at the band that Bon Iver has become over the better part of 20 years. It shows the evolution of Vernon’s songwriting, and even more than that the musicianship of the other members of the band that have accumulated over time: Sean Carey, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Michael Lewis, Matthew McCaughan, and Jenn Wasner.
From a spirited rendition of “PDLIF,” one of a pair of singles from 2020 off an album that never materialized, all the way back to one of Vernon’s favorite songs to cover, Mahalia Jackson’s “A Satisfied Mind,” “VOLUMES: ONE” is a triumph not just of live music recording but of rich musical storytelling and an exciting new direction for a longtime darling of the indie music sphere. Knowing how many live shows Bon Iver has played over the years, and the amount of unreleased B-sides and covers they have floating around among the fanbase, I for one am very much looking forward to the next entries in this archival series.
