10. 715 - CrΣΣks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Fx1yq3A8M



This is the song that is either hit or miss for many - many people I know absolutely adore this song, but I never really got attached to it. It’s been done before - and the studio version sounds incredibly awkward. The lyrics are good, but (obviously) the song really has nothing else going for it. The sound is a nice experiment, but at the end of the day - it’s just awkward. The ending is also way to abrupt.

9. 21 M◊◊n Water

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGY4Z8xEmFw



I absolutely adore the beginning part of this song - it’s so soothing, and once the lyrics start it just furthers that feeling of being in that euphoric state, it just stirs a whole bunch of emotion. It’s a whole lot above ‘715 CrΣΣks’ but it’s still relatively low - the main reasoning being, that I felt like the distortion at the end wasn’t justified and it was to random to be appreciated. It worked well with ‘10 d E A T h b R e a s T ⚄ ⚄’ because it was already established that the song was going to be mainly a distortion piece, so the random distortion part at the end of this song felt painfully out of place. Which is a bummer - as the first half of this song could have made it into the top 5 easily.

8. 10 d E A T h b R e a s T ⚄ ⚄

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNy7VtSsmu8



Yeah, this song was together with ‘715 CrΣΣks’ probably the most controversial song of the album - it’s distorted and it’s somewhat demonic sounding instrumentals came across as a shock to many long-term fans - I personally really liked it, and I love experimentation like this, but this song alone doesn’t stand out as anything special or extraordinary, just a loose experiment, which is why it isn’t any higher - as there isn’t much other emotions that arise whilst listening.

7. 00000 Million

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0FqojM1TYqo



It’s quite a controversial choice to place this one so low - it stays true to Justin’s folk roots, it’s what a lot of people wanted from this album - but there is one thing that just doesn’t make it stand out; it’s rather forgettable compared to some other songs on this album, which is a bummer - but in an album that deviated rather a lot from his original sound, this is by far the closest we get to the original sounding Bon Iver, but put together with this album - it unfortunately doesn’t stick out nor blend in with the rest. Still a beautiful song though!

6. 33 ‘’GOD’’

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C5sB6AqJkM



The instrumentals are great, but the main part that sticks out is the high pitched voice you hear every now and then together with the slight distortion of the music here and there - it gives this song a nice atmospheric and unique twist to it that makes it stick out over some other songs in this album!

5. 29 #Strafford APTS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9utVR5Q67_k



The opening minute of this song is possibly my most favorite part of the entire album - it just sounds so amazing and it gives you such a euphoric high, but after that once Justin uses his high pitch voice - it just feels out of place - which knocks it down tremendously from what it would have been had it stayed more consistent to the beginning part throughout the entirety of the song. The lyrics stay strong and consistent throughout though - which is why it still finds it’s place in the top 5!

4. ___45___

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=898oItg-XIU



The saxophones are what make this song so high for me - this song is entirely made up of saxophones and Justin’ vocals - it’s like we’re listening to a rough draft of a song that’s being prepared, but the ‘rough draft’ happens to be amazing. In normal cases, this would surely be in the top 3, but this album is so good, that I had to place it down here to make room for the top 3. The only criticism that I have with this song is that during the latter half it slowly dies down a bit, but it’s a minor criticism though!

3. 666 ʇ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96t0rlPmn2E



This song was actually my favorite song of the entire album once it initially hit - and though it’s just as beautiful as when I first listened to it - I noticed I started appreciating the 2 that are above this one a lot more after having listened to them a bit more. Whereas my opinion on this song didn’t change. It’s still amazing though, the lyrics are top notch and actually portray Vernon’s own religious experiences which I found to be quite unique. Also, the song becomes so much better after the 2:16 point, which is saying a lot considering the first half is already absolutely amazing. Also, side note: this song happens to be the only song in the album with a latter half that happens to be better than the first half.

2. 8 (circle)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPsBFPX_yU4



It was honestly so hard to choose between this song and the number #1 choice, but I knew I had to pick one to take the fall - in a lot of albums cases, this would have been a clear 1. The opening couple of seconds of this song seriously brings me to a high that no other song has ever really achieved, which is quite extraordinary. It slowly goes down a bit (As it’s impossible to ride that high till the end), but it stays stellar though, very stellar. The pacing stays similar throughout, but there is a particular part that I absolutely adore, which is: 2:18-2:21, those little random screeches for some reason is a big reason why I Iike this song as well. The lyrics with this song are possibly the most stellar from the entirety of the album, there is such a fair share between music and lyrics - and it just feels perfect - they even each other out and I just really like it. Also, this is the longest song of the album, exceeding 5 minutes.

1. 22 (OVER S∞∞N)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISCEilPMNak



The opening song of the album - and man, what a trip from the start! It literally prepares you for the entirety of the album (deep lyrics, slight distortions, pitched side-voice, calm guitar-use , electronics, violins and saxophones) all put together in an amazing piece - a very stellar opener, and it very much deserves this top spot. I can’t say there is a single part in the song that’s weaker than any other parts of the song.

—————————————————————————————————-

Altogether an amazing album - great consistency, it all blends in together quite well. It just felt a little short (which is weird considering his other albums felt longer, yet were similarly as short - it’s probably because each song here is a different experience, which makes it seem to go by faster?) Some songs also felt a bit cut-short, but generally quite a pleasurable album!