The song is the Wisconsin singer-songwriter’s first of three from the EP Sable, out October 18th on Jagjaguwar.
‘S P E Y S I D E’ is a return to his acoustic sound that made For Emma, Forever Ago such a smash hit breakthrough way back in 2007.
Sable, the EP the song is drawn from features three tracks in total – ‘THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS’, ‘S P E Y S I D E’ and ‘AWARDS SEASON’ and is Justin Vernon’s first Bon Iver music in five years. “Before being Bon Iver meant playing a part,” he says.
The songs came after a “slow-burning breakdown”, with the process of healing in mind – unpacking the “darkness, pressure and anxiety that amounted to one of the most trying periods of his life”.
‘S P E Y S I D E’ begins with an apology to someone he hurt, written during a moment of clarity in 2021 – – “I know now that I can’t make good, how I wish I could’, ‘I got the best of me…. really damn been on such a violent spree.”
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The songs on SABLE were written between 2020-2023, recorded at April Base and produced by Justin Vernon and Jim-E Stack – with viola from Rob Moose on ‘S P E Y S I D E’.
Watch the video starring Justin Vernon, directed by Erinn Springer:
SABLE EP Tracklist:
- THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS
- S P E Y S I D E
- AWARDS SEASON
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005. He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Cara Magazine, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, co-founder of Lumo Club, event curator, Indie Sleaze club promoter, and producer of gigs and monthly listening parties & events in Dublin.
