Bon Iver Releases ‘Speyside’ Off ‘Sable’ EP

You can see and hear Justin Vernon‘s pain in the video for Bon Iver‘s new single, “Speyside.” He lies on a bed, wincing, singing, “Nothing’s really happened like I thought it would,” in one scene of the black-and-white clip, directed by Erinn Springer. In another moment, he’s wading into an ocean wearing a peacoat and fedora. “I can’t rest on no dynasty, man, what is wrong with me?” he sings, as his guitar twinkles and viola saws behind him. In nearly every song and every note, Vernon’s loneliness is overwhelming.

The track, an apology he wrote in 2021 to loved ones he hurt, is one of three new songs that will make up Sable, an EP due on Oct. 18. It will be Bon Iver’s first release in about five years.

Vernon performed the song a couple of years ago at a concert in London. “When I made this song, I was feeling a lot of guilt, which is an important emotion to have,” he said at the time. “It’s also an important emotion to put yourself past. The day I wrote it, I got a little drunk on rum and sent it to a couple of friends who are here tonight. I’m thankful to have a friend to send a song to. You can’t just put that shit on MySpace anymore!”

Vernon recorded the songs between 2020 and 2023 at Wisconsin’s April Base. He produced them with Jim-E Stack. Rob Moose played viola.

The last Bon Iver release, the singles “AUATC” and “PDLIF,” came out in 2020. That same year he duetted with Taylor Swift on “Exile,” a track off her Folklore album.

Sable track list:

1. “Things Behind Things Behind Things”
2. “Speyside”
3. “Awards Season”