6 essential tracks from Bon Iver's ‘22, A Million'

Coincidentally, two of 2016’s most-anticipated albums, from two of music’s more reclusive artists, open with alien versions of the creators’ own voices. The first song on Bon Iver’s 22, A Million opens with frontman Justin Vernon’s voice pitch-shifted almost beyond recognition, just as Frank Ocean did on the track he chose to re-introduce himself to the world, Nikes.

Whether it’s a case of great minds thinking alike or Vernon and Ocean toying with listeners, making them wait a few seconds longer for the music they’ve been waiting years to hear, 22, A Million arrives in a year full of long-awaited albums from artists like Ocean, Kanye West and Beyonce, rewarding fans who’ve waited years for new music from their favorite names.

Just because an album arrived unexpectedly doesn’t mean it’s a quality one. Thankfully, the ten-track album is a triumphant return for Vernon, showing his band incorporating electronic textures into his brand of multilayered folk-rock, taking enough risks to keep the group’s concept fresh while avoiding the self-indulgent experimentations that sunk some of 2016’s class of surprise albums.

Before its release, all signs pointed to 22, A Million as a radical departure for Bon Iver, with mysterious murals popping up promoting the album, the reveal of its bizarre song titles and critics’ early song reviews that painted a picture of Vernon throwing away his guitars for noisy synths.

But it’s been a long time since Vernon emerged from his figurative and literal cabin in the woods, and fans who’ve followed Justin Vernon’s many projects in the years since Bon Iver’s 2007 breakout album For Emma, Forever Ago will hear plenty of the band's trademarks that won them a rapt audience a decade ago.

And if you were listening, Vernon prepared fans well for his new direction. In between his Autotuned experiments with Kanye West and his beats-minded collaborations on James Blake’s new album, he released Reprave, his 2013 album with his project Volcano Choir that’s the halfway point in between Bon Iver’s previous folk leanings and 22, A Million’s penchant for noise.

Ready to listen? Start with these six highlights.

Track 2: 10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⊠ ⊠

Track 3: 715 - CRΣΣKS

Track 4: 33 “GOD”

22, A Million's second and third tracks are the album's most experimental detour, with 10's warped tribal drumbeats leading into the album's most Kanye moment, 715's distorted a cappella vocals. And the name-drop to the Ace Hotel aside, 33 — one of 22, A Million's first singles — is still one of the album's best.

Track 6: 666 ʇ

Track 8: 8 (circle)

Track 9: ____45_____

The album's second half is more classic Bon Iver territory; its devilish name aside, 666 would be perfectly at home on the band's 2011 album. 22, A Million peaks with the anthemic 8, which cools down to the more experimental 45.