Songs That Didn't Make the Cut

I hate picking favorites. I'm one of the most indecisive people you'll ever meet. I believe this stems from growing up as an only child and always being asked which parent was right in the latest pointless argument. How can you choose one parent over another?

Similarly, how can you reduce an entire year of great music to ten great albums? Well, Kyle and I did it, and I still like our list quite a bit. However, that stubborn egalitarian in me just won't rest until I also write about some of the other awesome songs, bands, and albums that I loved in 2009.

The first of those that didn't make the cut is Bon Iver's Blood Bank EP, which was released last January. Despite the snowy cover and wintry release date (not to mention, I suppose, that "bon iver" means "good winter"), the EP has a more upbeat, warmer feel than the beautifully somber For Emma, Forever Ago of 2007.

Originally a one-man band, Justin Vernon has been joined on the EP by two more musicians, and the additions seem to have been an excellent decision. This isn't just For Emma, Forever Ago part two--Blood Bank is fuller and richer and, somehow in just four songs, demonstrates new sounds and new variety that For Emma didn't have. That being said, some fans may long for the acoustic aching of a lonely man in his Wisconsin cabin and see Blood Bank as a betrayal.

Some of what fans of For Emma loved is still there--Vernon's eerie, layered vocals and his reminiscent lyrics shine on the title track--but there is also the addition of electric sounds, pianos, and slide guitars throughout the EP, as well as the love-it-or-hate-it vocoder (think Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek") on the last track, "Woods."

Blood Bank is different, to be sure. But then, how could the brilliance of that first break-out album be repeated? I say kudos to Bon Iver for experimenting and giving us an EP to enjoy while we wait for the next album, whatever it may bring.

You can listen to (and download for free) "Blood Bank" (and several other songs) on Bon Iver's website.

RIYL: Fleet Foxes, Jose Gonzalez