It’s not as if we haven’t heard Justin Vernon’s stirring voice in some time, he’s been extremely prolific (notably through his collaborations with Kanye West and his side project Volcano Choir) despite Bon Iver not having released an album since 2011’s beautiful Bon Iver.
The wait will finally be over on September 30th, as Bon Iver will release their third LP, the first in 5 years, titled 22, A Million.
Having released the two oddly titled tracks “22 (OVER S∞∞N) [Bob Moose Extended Cab Version]” and “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⊠ ⊠ (Extended Version)” through trippy lyric videos, they continue the rollout in the same fashion today with the release of the new track “33 ‘God’” and its very own lyric video.
Despite being anything but basic, “33 ‘God’” is the most straightforward sounding of the tracks released so far, despite having most of the vocals being heavily autotuned (and portions of them sped). It chugs along energetically and soulfully, showcasing Justin Vernon’s truly unique sound.
The accompanying video is a lot harder to decipher, as the lyrics seem to structured on the screen as a psalm (the “Psalm 22” reference at the beginning and the “33” in the song title) and overladen with mysterious animated symbols throughout.
Put your investigative skills to the test by watching the video, and pre-order 22, A Million here via Jagujaguwar.