Bon Iver’s new album, 22, A Million, is an album for insomniacs rustling in their sheets in early morning; the ones who wake up and feel surrounded by heavy air. Never quite asleep, never quite awake, 22 floats and drops from one song to the next.
22 is an obvious departure in sound from previous albums like For Emma, Forever Ago and the self-titled Bon Iver. It’s been a couple years since Bon Iver has released new music, so there’s been room for Justin Vernon’s sound to change and develop through different projects. 
In 2013, Vernon’s side project Volcano Choir released an album called Repave. A year later Vernon released the choral “Heavenly Father” for Zach Braff’s indie flick Wish I Was Here. Both of these releases and their general ambience pointed towards 22, A Million’s change in sound, but that change didn’t fully hit until this album was released.
One may think that because of the broken capitalization of the track titles and its mysterious release that 22, A Million is too fragmented to be considered a logical step forward in Vernon’s discography. On first listen, it appears that way; it switches from folksier songs to tracks cloaked in darkness without warning.
22, A Million is similar to Sufjan Steven’s Carrie and Lowell, being intimately emotional in a way that Vernon’s other albums and releases aren’t. The best of Bon Iver lies in full albums like For Emma, not one-off songs.  22, A Million might just become the real turning point in Bon Iver’s discography.
There’s certainly a rougher texture to 22 than the indie folk of songs like “Towers” and “Holocene.” Listening to 22 is like drinking cough syrup with tiny rocks in it: It goes down slow and sweet, but scrapes at the side of your throat. This album gathers and layers like a ‘regular’ Bon Iver album, but because of its electronic and experimental sounds, it has more impact.
The single and its wild track title “22 (OVER S∞∞N)” caused a ruckus online. Twitter broke out in collective confusion when the rest of the track titles were released. “What has Yeezus done to Justin?” we all asked while reading the list of songs with infinity signs in their titles. And though some of these Kanye comparisons ring true, 22, A Million is fully Bon Iver. It’s something only Justin Vernon could make.
“8 (Circle)” could be a song off of For Emma with its trickling piano, but instead it chooses to linger in the heaviness of its own existence.  It’s a song that puts its full weight on you lyrically and vocally. Vernon sings, “Too much for me to pick up, no/Not sure what forgiveness is/We’ve galvanized the squall of it all.” The way Vernon’s voice and the horns intertwine is murky and brown, like you can’t see past the next couple tracks.
While the rest of Bon Iver’s albums are perfect for the morning with their broad, meadow-like folk, 22, A Million takes a step toward the shadows. There’s a movement away from clarity that’s totally disorienting and intense. It’s perfect to listen to during a sleepless night. Maybe 22, A Million is a little more Kanye-ish than initially thought. It’s overwhelming in the way that My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy is. As long as “I love Kanye like Kanye loves Kanye” doesn’t suddenly replace Vernon’s lyrics, that new sense of mystery fits Bon Iver perfectly.