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FIRST LISTEN: Bon Iver’s Stunning New Album

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Bon Iver’s sophomore album Bon Iver is one of the most anticipated LPs of the year, and although it won’t be released until June 21, NPR has a full stream of the set, which you can stream below.

As SPIN contributor Mikael Wood notes in his review, Justin Vernon, Kanye West’s favorite singer, “cultivates an enchanted atmosphere, with gorgeous melodies, unique textures, and beautiful singing that may well score Vernon a fresh freelance gig with whatever rapper rules 2012.”

Highlights include the thundering psych-folk climax of “Perth” and “Minnesota, WI,” which gets spiced with an unexpected shot of bass-in-your-face funk. Even the Christopher Cross homage “Beth/Rest” packs plenty of sonic pleasure – dig the taste-flouting audacity of the keyboards – and would’ve totally beat out Cross’ “Sailing” at the Grammys were it released in 1980.

LISTEN: Bon Iver, Bon Iver