The much anticipated follow up to Bon Iver's acclaimed 2007 album 'For Emma, Forever Ago' is on the way this June.
Having busied himself with various sideprojects over the last few years, including Volcano Choir, Gayngs and even a contribution to Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy', frontman Justin Vernon told Rolling Stone that he needed to take a whole new approach to writing the album.
"Somewhere along the line, I forgot how to write songs," he admitted. "I couldn’t do it anymore with a guitar. It wasn't happening."
Having written 'For Emma, Forever Ago' alone in an isolated cabin in Wisconsin, this time round Vernon brought in a team of musicians including saxophonist Colin Stetson, who has recorded with Arcade Fire and Tom Waits, as well as Linda Rondstadt collaborator Greg Leisz.
"I brought in a lot of people to change my voice - not my singing voice, but my role as the author of this band, this project ... I built the record myself, but I allowed those people to come in and change the scene."
Vernon told Rolling Stone that the as yet untitled ten track album will feature a "civil war sounding heavy metal song" by the name of 'Perth', which he described as "chaotic, dense, jarring". He also admitted that closing track 'Best/Rest' is the one he's most proud of, calling it "the part where you pick up your joint and re-light it."
