More than five years have passed since Bon Iver's last album, “i, i” was released, so it's fitting that the opening of this new indie folk EP, “SABLE,” arrives like a siren, warning the listener of some intensity ahead.
The pitter-patter of the percussion on the first full track, “Things Behind Things Behind Things” precedes a high-pitched cascade of minor-key finger picking. Then frontman Justin Vernon's natural baritone follows with a restless announcement, “I would like the feeling / I would like the feeling / I would like the feeling / Gone.”
Emotions and reflections around nature, nostalgia, relationships and religion have long lived at the heart of Bon Iver — first heard on 2007's debut album, “For Emma Forever Ago,” recorded in his father's hunting cabin in the woods of northwestern Wisconsin. Much has changed since then, but for all the Grammy nominations, world tours and features with a wide variety of stars from Bruce Springsteen to Taylor Swift, Vernon has never felt comfortable with his fame or the accompanying pressure to fulfill a certain persona he has experienced.
That's evident on “SABLE,” made up of a droning intro and just three complete songs. Vernon has only released a handful of singles and collaborations since his fourth album — the complex and experimental “i,i” — was released in 2019. The reason: According to a press release, he had some soul-searching to do about whether he wanted to continue his career and, if so, what it would look like.
“I get caught looking in the mirror on the regular / What I see there resembles some competitor,” Vernon laments in the opener, a song written during the pandemic. There's anguish in the crescendo as he sings about a fear of change, then a more hopeful tone as the music softly winds down into the second track, “S P E Y S I D E."
The opening line, “I know now that I can’t make good / How I wish I could go back and put me where you stood," sets the stage for a guilt-driven plea for forgiveness. Vernon is briefly joined by violist Rob Moose, but it is otherwise a back-to-basics man-and-guitar sound that would've fit well on his debut album. There's none of the falsetto that set apart “For Emma Forever Ago,” but the music and word mesh well as a chilling expression of an attempt to restore something.
The only problem is it doesn't keep going. The final song, “Awards Season," is more poem than melody. Saxophonist Michael Lewis chimes in, but there's a lack of the sonic richness that has defined Bon Iver's music. For Vernon, the reset is surely complete. For everyone else, hopefully there's more to come. “SABLE” will undoubtedly leave Bon Iver fans wanting more.
This cover image released by Jagjaguwar Records shows "Sable" by Bon Iver. (Jagjaguwar Records via AP)
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — The death of Liam Payne, who shot to stardom as a member of British boy band One Direction and grappled with intense global fame while still in his teens, sent shockwaves across the world Thursday as Argentine investigators continued their investigation at the scene.
Fans, music-industry figures and fellow musicians paid tribute to Payne, 31, who died after falling from a hotel balcony in Argentina.
As fans and media bombarded the Casa Sur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighborhood of Argentina’s capital, the forensics unit worked inside on Thursday collecting evidence.
The Buenos Aires police said they found Payne's hotel room “in complete disarray," with packs of clonazepam, a central nervous system depressant, as well as energy supplements and other over-the-counter drugs strewn about and “various items broken.” They added that a whiskey bottle, lighter and cellphone were retrieved from the internal hotel courtyard where Payne’s body was found.
The day before, police said that Payne “had jumped from the balcony of his room," without elaborating on how they came to that conclusion. The Associated Press could not confirm details of the incident, as the investigation is ongoing. The medical examiner’s office said it was conducting an autopsy.
Police said they had rushed to the hotel Wednesday in response to an emergency call just after 5 p.m. local time that had warned of an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
A hotel manager can be heard on a 911 call recording obtained by The Associated Press saying the hotel has “a guest who is overwhelmed with drugs and alcohol ... He’s destroying the entire room and, well, we need you to send someone, please.” The manager’s voice becomes more anxious as the call goes on, noting the room has a balcony.
Payne was known as the tousle-headed, sensible one of the quintet that went from a TV talent show to a pop phenomenon with a huge international following of swooning fans. In recent years he had acknowledged struggling with alcoholism, saying in a YouTube video posted in July 2023 that he had been sober for six months after receiving treatment. Representatives for Payne did not immediately return emails and calls.
Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood, who performed with One Direction in 2014, said he was “shocked and saddened.”
“God bless Liam, thinking of all his loved ones. He will be dearly missed,” Wood wrote on X.
Paris Hilton also sent condolences on X, saying the news was “so upsetting.” The Backstreet Boys said in a social media post that their hearts go out to “Directioners around the world.”
Dozens of One Direction fans flocked to the Casa Sur Hotel after the news broke, forming lines that spilled into the cordoned-off street outside, where police stood sentinel. Forensic investigators were seen leaving the building, from where Payne’s body was removed around three hours after the fall. Young women filming with their cellphones expressed shock and heartbreak as a makeshift memorial with rows of candles and bouquets quickly grew.
“I didn’t think he was going to die so young,” 21-year-old Isabella Milesi told the AP.
Payne was one of five members of One Direction, which formed after each auditioned for the British singing competition “The X Factor” in 2010, two years after Payne’s first attempt to get on the show. Aged 16 the second time around, Payne sang Michael Bublé’s version of “Cry Me a River,” appearing nervous at the start but warming up with the audience’s cheers and applause.
After each singer failed to make it through the competition as a solo act, Simon Cowell and his fellow judges combined Payne, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson into what would become one of the most successful boy bands ever — even though they lost the competition.
Each member had his own persona, with Payne — who hailed from Wolverhampton in England's West Midlands region — known as the responsible one. The band became known for their pop sound and romantic hits including “What Makes You Beautiful,” “Night Changes” and “Story of My Life.”
Payne had prominent solos on songs including “Stole My Heart” and “Change Your Ticket,” co-writing several of the band’s hits. One Direction had six Top 10 hits on the Billboard charts by the time they disbanded in 2016 and a highly loyal fan base, known as “Directioners,” many of them teen girls.
“I’ve always loved One Direction since I was little,” said 18-year-old Juana Relh, another fan outside Payne’s hotel. “To see that he died and that there will never be another reunion of the boys is unbelievable, it kills me.”
With his meteoric rise to fame, Payne had said that it took some time to adjust to life in the public eye.
“I don’t think you can ever deal with that. It's all a bit crazy for us to see that people get in that sort of state of mind about us and what we do,” he said in a 2013 interview with the AP after recounting an experience where a fan was in a state of shock upon meeting him.
One Direction announced an indefinite “hiatus” in 2016, and Payne — like each of his erstwhile bandmates — pursued a solo career, shifting toward EDM and hip-hop.
While Styles became a huge solo star, the others had more modest success. Payne's 2017 single “Strip That Down,” featuring Quavo, reached the Billboard Top 10, and stayed on the charts for several months. He put out an album “LP1” in 2019, and his last release — a single called “Teardrops” — was released in March.
In 2020, to mark the 10th anniversary of One Direction, Payne shared a screenshot of a text message he sent to his father on the day he joined the group, which read: “I’m in a boyband.”
“What a journey … I had no idea what we were in for when I sent this text to my dad years ago at this exact time the band was formed," he wrote.
Payne had a 7-year-old son, Bear Grey Payne, with his former girlfriend, the musician Cheryl, who was known as Cheryl Cole when she performed with Girls Aloud. She was an “X Factor” judge during One Direction’s season, although their relationship began years later.
Payne was previously engaged to Maya Henry, from August 2020 to early 2022. Henry released a novel earlier this year that she said was based on their relationship.
In addition to his son, he is survived by his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, and his two older sisters, Ruth and Nicola.
Huamani reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press journalists Natacha Pisarenko and Debora Rey contributed reporting from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
FILE - Liam Payne performs during the first day of BBC Radio 1's Biggest Weekend at Singleton Park, in Swansea, Wales, May 26, 2018. (Ben Birchall/PA via AP, File)
Forensic investigators exit the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
FILE - One Direction members, from right, Liam Payne and Harry Styles perform on ABC's "Good Morning America" at Rumsey Playfield/SummerStage on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Police restrain fans gathering outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
FILE - One Direction members, from left, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Liam Payne perform on NBC's "Today" show, Nov. 13, 2012 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
People embrace outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Fans light candles outside the hotel where former One Direction singer Liam Payne was found dead after he fell from a balcony in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
