Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

So well-known now is the log-cabin-in-Wisconsin story behind this album that it is in danger of overshadowing one of the most emotionally driven, heart-breaking and uplifting albums of recent years. The very real danger is that, through this overexposure of the back story, some folk might turn away from a true gem. It would be foolhardy to listen to such inner cynicism. The music is so delicately-weighted that the natural surroundings in which it was created are reflected in its soft, measured and deliberate rhythms. Justin Vernon restores glory to the singer-songwriter genre.