‘How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?’ by Big Red Machine Review: An Elegant Collaboration With Plenty of Friends

[peekaboo]

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and the National’s Aaron Dessner team up once again on this new album, which features the single ‘Renegade’ and guests like Taylor Swift and Anaïs Mitchell

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon and the National’s Aaron Dessner

Photo: Graham Tolbert

When the self-titled debut album from Big Red Machine dropped in 2018, it was received as yet another side project from Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. The honey-voiced singer-songwriter has always stayed busy with groups outside of his main band. And this one, a partnership with Aaron Dessner of the National, wasn’t too far afield from Mr. Vernon’s expressive indie rock, which combines rustic instrumentation and electronic processing. But in the three years since, Big Red Machine has turned into something else. “How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?” (37D03D/Jagjaguwar), the new BRM record, out Friday, is clearly a showcase for Mr. Dessner’s production, songwriting and—for the first time—his voice. Big Red Machine is essentially a collective—Mr. Vernon’s contributions are still prominent, and others in Mr. Dessner’s orbit sing lead and co-write—but here Mr. Dessner is the center of gravity. 

Mr. Dessner is a low-key personality most comfortable in a supporting role. In 2020, his profile raised significantly thanks to his collaborations with Taylor Swift. She released two No. 1 albums in 2020—“Folklore” in July, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year, and “Evermore” in December—and Mr. Dessner co-wrote and co-produced both. Compared to the danceable beats found on her three previous records and the radio-ready country-pop she started with, these LPs were quiet and reflective. They were created from a distance during the pandemic-induced lockdown, and they captured the inward focus of the moment. 

“How Long” feels like an extension of those Taylor Swift albums, with a similar chamber-music elegance and often solemn mood. Most of Mr. Dessner’s recent work is built around the piano—the instrument dominates this record—and he’s developed a distinctive style and a trademark tone. His playing leaves a great deal of space, as if he’s using the fewest notes possible to voice every chord and melody, allowing us to hear the instrument’s resonance and the air in the room. It’s a dusty, autumnal sound—stately, weathered, wistful, all scuffed blacks and knotty browns—that conjures empty spaces and fading memories. Which makes the piano an ideal centerpiece on an album filled with songs about childhood fears and uneasy dreams. 

 

Three notes from a piano are what we hear first on “Latter Days,” the opener on “How Long,” a duet between Mr. Vernon and another frequent collaborator of Mr. Dessner’s, Anaïs Mitchell, who records her own solo albums and wrote the musical “Hadestown.” It’s about the anguish of looking back—“Passed out spinning in the house where you grew up / You in your childhood bed,” Ms. Mitchell sings—and Mr. Dessner dresses the tune in funereal garb, as if the music itself is waving goodbye to the pain of the past. 

Mr. Dessner’s approach to production and arrangement is so singular that he makes songs by a wide range of collaborators—from a mega-famous pop star to a cult rapper—sound natural together. Mr. Vernon sings lead on the second track, “Reese,” a more uptempo ballad, using his relaxed lower register to bring to mind the earthier bearing of his 2011 album “Bon Iver, Bon Iver.” Two tracks in the record’s first half feature Ms. Swift. On “Birch,” which begins with a trilling drum machine pattern before the piano folds in, she sings backup to Mr. Vernon in his piercing falsetto mode, while the exceptional advance single “Renegade,” which the pop superstar co-wrote, could have fit easily on either of her albums from last year. 

“Phoenix” features the soaring voice of Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold alongside Ms. Mitchell and Mr. Vernon, and the earthy swing of the rhythm evokes the rootsy funk of the Band. On “Easy to Sabotage,” another highlight found in the record’s middle section, Mr. Vernon duets with Naeem Juwan, a rapper who performs as Spank Rock. Both of their voices are heavily processed, and the arrangement has the steady build of the National. But even with the electronics and added volume, it doesn’t sound out of place next to the quieter tracks that surround it. 

As if to underscore Mr. Dessner’s increased investment in this record compared with Big Machine’s last outing, he sings lead on three songs, a new development for someone who prefers to stay behind the scenes. His voice brings to mind the soothing croon of Swedish indie-folk singer-songwriter José González, though it’s not as rich. Swathed in reverb, he sounds appropriately spectral on “The Ghost of Cincinnati,” about returning home and barely recognizing the person you once were, and then late in the record he fronts the uptempo number “Brycie,” a sweet tribute to his twin brother and frequent collaborator (he’s a member of the National and contributes string arrangements to this album). One senses that we’ll be hearing solo work in this vein from Aaron Dessner in the future.

“How Long Do You Think It’s Gonna Last?” is significantly better than the first Big Red Machine album, though it has its limitations. Mr. Dessner’s aesthetic is reserved and careful—he’s a master of pretty and evocative songs that shy away from extremes. They are devoid of histrionics and, some will say, lacking in excitement. But his style is the product of intention and steady development—he’s not trying to please everybody. Mr. Dessner has found creative rejuvenation in the isolation of the past 18 months, and he’s writing and recording music at an impressive clip. Taking a step back and considering these 15 tracks alongside the 25 he worked on with Ms. Swift, it’s clear that he’s operating at the peak of his artistry, which you rarely see from someone 20 years into his career.