The journey to Bon Iver’s fifth record began with the unburdening of last autumn’s Sable EP. The triptych gave way to a nine-song follow-up saga where sadness transforms into unbridled joy. From the first note, it’s abundantly clear that this is the record Justin Vernon needed to make.

SABLE, fABLE is something of a reset, a triumph of 12 standalone gems. ‘S P E Y S I D E’ reflectively unpacks his past darkness, which in turn is unleashed on saxophone firestorm of ‘AWARDS SEASON’. But best of all is ‘THINGS BEHIND THINGS BEHIND THINGS’, a sparse ballad that stuns in its simplicity.

If the first half of SABLE, fABLE explores darker terrain, the second celebrates sunlight parting the clouds. Though Bon Iver’s 2019’s outing i,i hinted at a brighter future, it still seemed some distance off with the final line: “There's no fountain / Feel it in my bones”.

SABLE, fABLE exorcises any lingering ghosts with soulful torch songs that bring forth a rolling ecstasy. Gone are the evasive and dense walls of sound that guarded Vernon’s voice on i,i and 2016’s 22, A Million. Here, he sounds more emphatic and legible than ever.

This is an album of ghost stories and ghost songs, and as bruising as they may be at times, they’re easy to live inside when they’re so tenderly written and recorded. By the penultimate track, Vernon urges, “There’s a rhythm to reclaim / Get tall and walk away,” knowing we’re built to recover from ruin.

As the final note rings out, Vernon emerges defiant and unbowed from his various travails. Ghosts are nothing to fear.

9.5/10

Out now