As Bon Iver, Justin Vernon relies on a sweeping, hushed, almost cinematic take on making records. It’s great for your headphones, but it’s also head scratching. At times, it feels too personal. With The Shouting Matches, his blues bar band, there’s nothing hushed or cinematic about it. Vernon relies less on the falsetto and lets a more natural, guttural croon rip, and it’s a welcomed change of pace.
Grownass Man sounds like it was made for dusty jukeboxes across our fine fifty states or long rides where the trees and country houses smear by in a sixty-mile-an hour blur. It’s introspective in that it plays to your mood, as any good blues record should, but it’s not technically mesmerizing. The freewheeling space leaves more time to make sense of it on your own. Most importantly for the band, it’s a departure from expectations, which gives it plenty of room to breath. “Gallup, NM” rambles on like a Jackson Browne b-side, while tracks like “Heaven Knows” and “Milkman” wander into Ben Harper territory without all that pain and suffering.
This is a fun, smart release from a band of true professionals. Roll your windows down and roll on.