"For Emma, Forever Ago" by Bon Iver (Jagjaguwar) - Out now

The falsetto is a strange animal, especially when it comes to folk music. It's unnatural and can be a bit jarring, but it can be beautiful, acting as another instrument. Lots of singers use it - and use it well - but few use it as often as Wisconsin troubadour Bon Iver.

Bon Iver's falsetto is nearly constant and a bit grainier than, say, Jeff Buckley's syrupy falsetto or Barry Gibb's smooth-as-chrome version. Bon Iver's (real name Justin Vernon) is more of a kick-in-the-pants kind of sound. While that sounds painful, don't for a second think his music isn't still beautiful, if at times plaintive.

For Vernon, the falsetto is his vehicle; he only breaks his falsetto stride a few times during the entirety of "For Emma, Forever Ago." Even then, his uses his regular singing voice sparingly, never more superbly than on the chorus of the phenomenal "Skinny Love." That's too bad, because his range is amazing.

The album, self-released to critical acclaim last year and re-released by Jagjaguar this year, is culled largely from a three-month stint in the Wisconsin woods, time slated for recovery and decompression after the breakup of his band, DeYarmond Edison.

Right off the bat, Vernon shocks you, interrupting the opener "Flume" with the sawmill-sound of an ebow on his acoustic guitar - a sound that's a bit hard to listen to in hi-fi. (For those not in the know, an ebow is the little electronic gadget that U2 guitarist The Edge uses to create that weird whining noise in "With or Without You.")

But this just isn't a typical folk record, as he moves from "Flume" into "Lump Sum," which starts with ethereal chanting before morphing to a dance sort of rhythm belying the fast pace of cathartic change he's experienced in that lonely cabin. "For Emma" expands in front of you like an ocean from a stream, from solo acoustic guitar to a full ensemble of horns and electric guitar lead.

And like an old storyteller, he moves at his own pace, at times taking a gloriously long time to get to his point, with none so long an intro as the closer, "Re:Stacks."

It's a delightful method that leaves you waiting on bated breath for him to continue, struggling to digest what you've heard. That struggle of comprehension continues throughout with complex lyrics and seems like it's by design. Really, how could you understand someone's exponential human growth without at least a little digging.

It's possible his use of falsetto just happened to fit the songs he was writing, but more likely, it was another highly intentional move on a deceptively deep album - a move aimed at attaining the aesthetic he set out for.

Here's hoping, though, that the design of his next album lets him explore his vocal range a bit more. Until then, sit back, relax and decode.

Download this track now: "Skinny Love"

Listen to it here: www.virb.com/boniver