In the music business, the word "hype" can either be the signal of a promising future or death knell of an artist. The resulting product can be iconic, but it can also signal to others a sort of elitism, worthy of only a select audience. I'm sure it's no surprise to anyone that hype doesn't always mean a high quality product. Movies are hyped all the time, only to disappoint and flop upon their release, and music is certainly no different.
Bon Iver (a play off the french term for "good winter": "bon hiver") is one band/artist who got a ton of hype in the indie rock / folk communities last year and really surprised me. I find that when a band has so much good buzz going for them, I usually set my expectations impossibly high, but that certainly wasn't the case here.
I originally wrote Bon Iver off as the type of acoustic folk music that Pitchfork goes gaga over, but was totally enamored with the melodies and simple mood of his album, For Emma, Forever Ago. It's the perfect winter album.
The album ranked pretty high on my "Best of 2008" list, and I'm really digging his new Blood Bank EP as well.
Check out his (FREE) Daytrotter Sessions here.
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