The Daily Spin II

Bon Iver | SABLE, fABLE

Welcome back to the Daily Spin. For the uninitiated, this is the series in which I review an album every day of 2025.

As was the case two years ago, my favorite song from each album can be found at the playlist linked here.

Album: SABLE, fABLE (2025)

Artist: Bon Iver

Link:

I don’t think it’s quite right to call this a ‘return to form’ - that implies that Justin Vernon lost a step to begin with, and while I may not have loved i,i the way I did 22, A Million, it’s undeniable that Vernon has never really faltered - from his beginnings the better part of two decades ago, to the bleak midwinters of his sophomore effort, to the ethereal ascendancy of his third album, through to the modern.

SABLE pulls from all parts of Vernon’s career to this point in building itself - the acoustic elements stun here - Vernon’s heartbroken voice lamenting something deep within himself early in the album, as well as his preacher-like focus later through the record, songs like ‘There’s A Rhythmn’ endless wells of emotive sound, propagated by some absolutely brilliant production work. The foil, of course, is the synthetic - Vernon has long been at the forefront with this, noting both 22 and his work as part of Big Red Machine, but SABLE finds a new gear to it all - elements of Prince bleed through here, and the tinges of RnB and funk that have found their way into this album make it such a delight to consume.

An album that begins with the bleakness of it all - the damning self-hatred - closes with a near-joyous experience - making of it what you can, that you may find yourself some measure of satisfaction. Hell of a thesis statement.

Rating: 9/10

Best Tracks: I’ll Be There; Walk Home

Worst Tracks: Au Revoir