New Release of the Week: Bon Iver - SABLE, fABLE

Bon Iver’s three-song collection SABLE was a prologue mired in darkness, a controlled burn clearing the way for new possibilities.

fABLE is the book that follows. Where SABLE was a work of solitude, fABLE is an outstretched hand.

Radiant, ornate pop music gleams around Vernon’s voice as he focuses on a new and beautiful era. But there’s a reason SABLE, is of a piece with fABLE; the shadow still rears its head in lighter times.

Even when you’ve reached a new chapter, you’ll still find yourself back in your own foundational muck.

As the album winds to a close, Vernon acknowledges the need for patience and a commitment to put in the work. There’s a selfless rhythm required when you’re enmeshing yourself with another person.

The song - and by extension the entire album - is a pledge. He’s ready to find that pace.

Sound Pick: Smashing Pumpkins - Siamese Dream

One of the greatest albums of the ‘90s (and possibly one of the greatest alternative rock records of all time) gets a rare vinyl reissue this week.

Smashing Pumpkins have made grander and more ambitious albums than Siamese Dream, but in terms of quality they’ve never topped it.

Billy Corgan’s songwriting and playing, coupled with Jimmy Chamberlain’s powerhouse drumming and Butch Vig’s rich, dense, heavily-multitracked production are an unbeatable combination, with his layering of guitar tracks in particular creating a sound unlike any other band at the time.

Singles ‘Cherub Rock’, ‘Disarm’, ‘Rocket’ and ‘Today’ are all-time classics, while album tracks such as ‘Quiet’, ‘Hummer’, ‘Mayonnaise’ and the multi-riff monster that is ‘Geek USA’ are just as strong.

The gentle beauty of the likes of ‘Spaceboy’, ‘Sweet Sweet’ and ‘Luna’ provide a comforting contrast.

Sound Records will be open at the earlier time of 9am on Saturday (April 12) as part of ‘Record Store Day’.