Bon Iver’s fifth album, “SABLE, fABLE”, arrives after a six-year wait, offering a soulful return to their indie folk roots with introspective depth.
Bon Iver is back, and it’s about time. After six years of teasing us with collaborations and side projects, Justin Vernon has finally graced us with SABLE, fABLE—yes, that’s how it’s stylized—the fifth album from his beloved indie outfit.
Released on Friday via Jagjaguwar, it’s a reminder that sometimes, the wait is worth it. For those of us who’ve spent the past half-decade replaying For Emma, Forever Ago on rainy days or letting 22, A Million glitch through our headphones during late-night drives, this feels like a homecoming we didn’t know we needed.
The last time Bon Iver delivered a full-length dispatch was in 2019 with I,I, a sprawling, soul-searching record that snagged Grammy nods for Album of the Year and Best Alternative Music Album. (And let’s not sleep on “Hey, Ma,” which had its moment in the Record of the Year spotlight.) But Vernon and his crew haven’t exactly been hibernating since then.
They popped up in 2020, lending their ghostly harmonies to Taylor Swift’s “Exile” on Folklore—a track that proved Bon Iver could haunt the pop charts without losing an ounce of their woodsy, indie cred. Now, with SABLE, fABLE, they’re back in their own lane, doing what they do best: crafting albums that wrap around you like a warm blanket on a cold night.
What’s the deal with SABLE, fABLE? The title alone—with its comma and all-caps swagger—hints at something cryptic, something Vernon might unpack in a late-night interview years from now. But for the moment, it’s enough to know this is Bon Iver’s fifth chapter, a continuation of a journey that’s taken them from a Wisconsin cabin to the Grammy stage and back again.
They’ve always had a knack for turning introspection into soundscapes—think of those early days when Vernon’s falsetto felt like it could crack the ice on a frozen lake. This new record promises to push that legacy forward, stretching the edges of indie folk while keeping that emotional heartbeat thumping at its core.
For fans, old and new, this is more than just an album drop—it’s an event. Six years is a long stretch in music years, plenty of time for life to pile up: heartbreaks, road trips, quiet mornings where you stare at the ceiling and wonder what’s next. Bon Iver’s been there through it all, a steady companion in the background. So, with SABLE, fABLE now spinning out in the world, there’s only one thing left to do: grab your headphones, hit play, and let Justin Vernon soundtrack the next stretch of your story.
