Rolling Stone (p.82) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "'Hinnom, TX' sets off brass and static bursts like distant fireworks; 'Minnesota, WI' blends what sounds like banjos with gnarly brass swells and R&B horns..." Rolling Stone (p.70) - Ranked #21 in Rolling Stone's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "Vernon's private world is a soft-rock heaven of the mind." Spin (p.69) - "Once again, he cultivates an enchanted atmosphere, with gorgeous melodies, unique textures, and beautiful singing..." Spin (p.49) - Ranked #14 in Spin's 'The Top 40 Albums Of 2011' -- "[I]magine a nice, cozy room full of ambitious friends boldly molding an inscrutable art-folk masterpiece." Entertainment Weekly (p.73) - "[A]n emboldened Vernon achieves a beautiful fantasy all his own, backed by a full band and buoyed with horns and pedal steel." -- Grade: A- Entertainment Weekly (p.100) - Ranked #4 in Entertainment Weekly's 'The Top 10 Albums Of 2011' -- "[H]is passion for gentle synth jams comes through so clearly, he makes Auto-Tune sound sincere." Uncut (p.34) - Ranked #9 in Uncut's '50 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "BON IVER was ambitious, fanatically detailed, but still warm and poignant..." Alternative Press (p.122) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[B]eautiful and heartrending. It's something far too busy and layered to be labeled as mere indie folk..." Magnet (p.39) - Ranked #13 in Magnet's '20 Best Albums Of 2011' -- "It manages to be both sweeping and widescreen, yet intimate and inviting..." CMJ - "This is the sound of a man awake in the world and reaching outward, and it'll make you want to wrap your arms around the entire human race." Paste (magazine) - "It retains the beautiful melancholy of FOR EMMA, but in nearly every way, it's just more. More layered, more diverse, more interesting." Record Collector (magazine) (p.88) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[A] glorious celebration of -- and experimentation with -- sound....This is a luxurious record, with Vernon's simple songs filtered and engorged at every turn." Clash (Magazine) - "[W]hile 'Holocene' and 'Calgary', for example, retain the same spectral beauty of the first album, they're multi-dimensional compositions rather than songs."