Five stars

If you’ve had a sneaky feeling that much of the rootsy, lo-fi Americana released is probably being made in a sumptuous penthouse overlooking the beach in Miami, you’ll be pleased to discover that For Emma, Forever Ago is the product of an honest-to-goodness log cabin in Wisconsin, where the man behind Bon Iver, Justin Vernon, took breaks from recording to chop the wood needed to heat the place and to shoot the deer that fed him. All of which would be so much pointless detail if his back-to-basics seclusion hadn’t led Vernon to produce a minimalist masterpiece. Built largely on an acoustic guitar that, instead of strumming, somehow pulses, swells and fades, the songs are relentlessly simple, sometimes barely there, and the meaning of the words is often similarly elusive until the vocal suddenly focuses round a burst of anger or frustration: “I told you to be patient.” Bon Iver’s nearest reference points are perhaps Iron and Wine, maybe Willard Grant Conspiracy; but, in truth, his nearest neighbours are miles away.

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