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Perhaps the least surprising thing about “For Emma, Forever Ago” is that it was recorded in a remote cabin in Wisconsin in the heart of winter. Such is the icy fingered grip of this album that the remoteness of its conception is almost enough to elicit a shiver from the first time listener. Justin Vernon’s search for log cabin catharsis becomes, by the strange alchemy afforded by solitude, a musical journey which bears near spiritual fruits. For this album is a stripped back treasure - largely acoustic, with unfussy arrangements against which Vernon’s falsetto wrings a lifetime of soul searching, regret and, eventually, hope from despair.
From the overdubbed ghostly choral opening of Lump Sum, through the beautiful haunting dynamic sweep of The Wolves (Act I and II) to the finale of “re: stacks”, which simply feels like redemption, the sun through the clouds and the spring thaw all rolled into one, this is a moving and complete work. It is also intensely personal. There’s something about the simple honesty of it all that serves to validate and weighten every emotional nuance. Lyrically enigmatic, Vernon merely hints at feelings and suggestions to flesh out the music, yet offers a sense of universality. In stripping back the layers of his personal situation and his music, and accessing nature as his muse, Vernon has achieved something simple, spiritual and profound.
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