Bon Iver EP "Blood Bank"

Bon Iver's "For Emma, Forever Ago", was a good album, a solid album and a special album. But it was nothing exciting that demanded anymore than the usual attention to future Justin Vernon releases. However, like most things from Wisconsin, his recently released EP, "Blood Bank," is solid and wholesome. A skinny set of 4 songs, "Blood Bank" takes the form of an interpose, keeping the Iver fan's appetite whetted for a future full length.
As much as this is a short set, it is a satisfying one. The songs are cleaner and some of the harmonies are reaching new heights of beauty in ways that "Emma" was only beginning to touch. For example, the last song of the four, "Woods", is a slow building and lush a capella collection of Vernon's voice being overdubbed and electronically manipulated, harmonizing the shit out of himself, using what seems at times to be 15 to 20 different versions of his voice. But what's different about this song, than other harmonizing male singers such as Phosphorescent, is that he's just got a little more soul and a little less country.
All in all, I would recommend any of these songs for a mixed tape, but there is no reason to rush out and buy it.

Lastly, one more thing about "Woods": it almost sounds like an indie N*SYNC boy band harmonizing towards its end. Don't believe it? Check it.

km