Justin Vernon’s genre-defying musical collective Bon Iver followed through on its recent teases yesterday, announcing a title, track list, and release date for the band’s third studio album. 22, A Million will be available on September 30, but fans of the group who managed to follow our advice and make their way to Vernon’s hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin this weekend got to hear the whole thing last night, when the band played the album in its entirety at the Eaux Claires Music & Arts Festival.
We weren’t there, but going off the two tracks Vernon released online today, it sounds like the band’s always loose “indie folk rock” descriptor—which it was already outgrowing with 2011’s Bon Iver, Bon Iver—is now pretty much obsolete. Besides—presumably—driving his record label’s copy editors nuts, “22 (OVER S∞∞N)” and “10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄” are both guitar-light, dreamy electronic pieces, featuring gospel-y vocals, backed up, in the latter case, with a driving percussive force, and in the former by some light sax noodling and strings.
You can see 22, A Million’s full track list—and all its attendant ∑’s, ◊’s, and ʇ’s—below, along with cryptic album art designed by Eric Timothy Carlson. Meanwhile, you can pre-order the album right here.
22, A Million track list:
- 22 (OVER S∞∞N)
- 10 d E A T h b R E a s T ⚄ ⚄
- 715 – CR∑∑KS
- 33 “GOD”
- 29 #Strafford APTS
- 666 ʇ
- 21 M◊◊N WATER
- 8 (circle)
- ____45_____
- 00000 Million