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Jul 11, 2019 By Christopher Roberts Bon Iver

Bon Iver (the project of Justin Vernon) have announced a new album, i,i, and shared two more songs from it, “Jelmore” and “Faith,” via lyric videos for each track. The album is due out August 30 via Jagjaguwar. Check out “Jelmore” and “Faith” below, followed by the album’s tracklist and cover art, as well as their upcoming tour dates.

The album includes two songs Bon Iver shared in June, “Hey, Ma” and “U (Man Like),” via videos for each track. “U (Man Like)” was one of our Songs of the Week. They also previously announced some new tour dates, launched a new website (www.icommai.com), and shared a cryptic teaser trailer for the album.

The album is the follow-up to 2016’s 22, A Million. The main Bon Iver lineup for the i,i sessions was Vernon, Sean Carey, Andrew Fitzpatrick, Mike Lewis, and Matt McCaughan, with Rob Moose and Jenn Wasner (of Wye Oak and Flock of Dimes).

It features a slew of special guests, including James Blake, Moses Sumney, Bruce Hornsby, Brad and Phil Cook, Aaron and Bryce Dessner, Bruce Hornsby, Channy Leaneagh, Naeem, Velvet Negroni, Marta Salogni, Francis Starlite, TU Dance, and more.

The album was recorded first at April Base in Wisconsin and then at Sonic Ranch in West Texas. When they moved to Sonic Ranch they sometimes took over all five of the studio’s live rooms at the same time.

“It allowed us to feel confident and comfortable, to be completely free of distraction,” says Vernon in a press release of recording at Sonic Ranch. “I don’t think I left the property in six weeks. And in many ways the story of the album is the story of those six weeks rather than the almost six years of some of the songs.”

Of the album’s strange title, i,i, Vernon had this to say: “The title of the record can mean whatever it means to you or me. It can mean deciphering and bolstering one’s identity. It can be how important the self is and how unimportant the self is, how we’re all connected.”

Summing up i,i in the press release, Vernon says: “It feels very much like the most adult record, the most complete. It feels like when you get through all this life, when the sun starts to set, and what happens is you start gaining perspective. And then you can put that perspective into more honest, generous work.”

Vernon also had this to say in a previous press release for “Hey, Ma” and “U (Man Like)”: “This project began with a single person, but throughout the last 11 years, the identity of Bon Iver has bloomed and can only be defined by the faces in the ever growing family we are.”

i,i Tracklist:

01 Yi
02 iMi
03 We
04 Holyfields,
05 Hey, Ma
06 U (Man Like)
07 Naeem
08 Jelmore
09 Faith
10 Marion
11 Salem
12 Sh’Diah
13 RABi

Bon Iver Tour Dates:

7/11 - Madrid, ES - Mad Cool Festival
7/13 - Oeiras, PT - NOS Alive
7/16 - Lyon, FR - Les Nuits De Fourvière
7/17 - Verona, IT - Castello Scaligero, Villafranca di Verona
7/19 - Wiesbaden, DE - Schlachthof
7/21 - Gräfenhainichen, DE - Melt Festival
8/31 - Missoula, MT - KettleHouse Amphitheater*
9/2 - Vail, CO - Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater∞
9/3 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre∞
9/4 - Salt Lake City, UT - Maverik Center∞
9/6 - George, WA - The Gorge Amphitheatre∞
9/7 - Vancouver, BC - Pacific Coliseum∞
9/10 - Portland, OR - Theater of the Clouds∞
9/12 - San Francisco, CA - Chase Center∞
9/15 - Los Angeles, CA - The Forum∞
10/3 - St. Paul, MN - Xcel Energy Center†
10/4 - Rosemont, IL - Allstate Arena†
10/6 - Toronto, ON - Scotiabank Arena†
10/8 - Columbus, OH - Schottenstein Center†
10/10 - Philadelphia, PA - Wells Fargo Center†
10/11 - Brooklyn, NY - Barclays Center‡
10/15 - Boston, MA - TD Garden†
10/17 - Washington, DC - The Anthem†
10/18 - Washington, DC - The Anthem†
10/19 - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena†

*w/ Indigo Girls
∞ w/ Sharon Van Etten
† w/ Feist
‡ w/ Yo La Tengo

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