Into the Abyss: Bon Iver’s “SABLE”
Graphic by Kim O’Donnell
by madison decina
Bon Iver’s newest release, SABLE, is a four-track installation centered around themes of guilt, the burden of celebrity, and self-forgiveness. Released on October 18th, 2024, the EP comes in the dead of autumn, further amplifying its reflective nature and themes of transition and growth. Clocking in at just under fifteen minutes, the collection is extremely emotionally dense and striking. At times it feels almost claustrophobic, scared of its own openness in a sense. Bon Iver (Justin Vernon) offers an extremely open, raw commentary on life, love, youth, and fame by blurring the already fine line between acceptance and forgiveness.
Leading off with an 11-second, alarm-esque track, the EP immediately immerses the audience. While often overlooked, these “introductory tracks” are extremely important to the composition of a project, and in this case, the track titled “...” leaves the listener with a sense of distortion or otherwise discomfort that opens the door to introspection during the following three more traditional songs.
“Things Behind Things” follows an individual struggling with anxiety and self-destructive tendencies. The loose, almost grainy vocals not only capture a feeling of vulnerability but also the fragmentary nature of inner turmoil. Being angry with oneself tends to be extremely isolating, no matter the context, depicted beautifully on this track. The production is simple, so simple that it almost felt incomplete, but not necessarily in a harmful way. The unpolished production reflects the uncertainty of inner turmoil in a really unique way. Paired with the lyrics themselves, the instrumentation invites the audience to draw their own conclusions and connections within the frame of anxiety and emotional uncertainty.
Originally released as a single, the next track, “S P E Y S I D E,” covers the innate pressure that comes with making amends. Everyone has made mistakes; therefore, everyone knows how rectifying those mistakes is often uncomfortable and quite frankly terrifying. This is a song about reconciling with those feelings and eventually overcoming them. It’s a deeply relatable track that, while tranquil in tone, is very layered and complex in its message: “I really damn been on such a violent spree, but maybe you can still make a man from me.” By allowing himself to recognize the pain his actions have caused, Bon Iver can finally look ahead towards growing and improving himself in the future (I think this type of vulnerability is often lost in music, especially music made by male artists, but that’s a whole other article). Leaving the listener in a deeply reflective state, the song effectively communicates the human desire to be liked, which in this case is synonymous with being forgiven.
The final track, “AWARDS SEASON,” is a sort of personal anecdote from Bon Iver’s time in the spotlight. Often struggling with the public's perception of him, Vernon allows the audience to experience fame alongside him. The isolation, the praise, the greed—it's the perfect storm. I will never truly know what it’s like to perform in front of a sold-out crowd, but after this song, I don't think I want to. The grappling between being successful and authenticity is a continuous battle. As depicted, great success itself comes with its own implications, its own anxieties, its own troubles, most of which you can never escape.
Relying heavily on minimalistic production techniques, mostly just a vocal track and a guitar, a lot is left up to interpretation. At times, this feels more like a conversation between friends than an EP to be released for millions to enjoy. SABLE combines deeply troubling issues with beautiful lyricism and production to create a harrowing scope of the modern music industry and society as a whole.