The first time I heard 22, a Million was a leak that came out a few months before its official release. Not 100% the best quality, the thing I remember most was the occasional “bloop” of an iMessage notification chirping through the mix. When those noises weren’t on the official release I weirdly felt a little let down. The gurgling electronic plunge Bon Iver took with this album remains one of the most joyful experimental transitions away from singer-songwriterdom I’ve heard, and the entire album’s mix of samples, found sound, digital corruption, and live instrumentation is made apparent on song one, and it never lets up. Through the overblown drums of “10 d E A T h b R E a s T,” the literal “voice as instrument” of “715 - CRΣΣKS,” the dark gospel of “666 ʇ,” and the mutated celebration of saxophone of “____45_____,” the cryptic, stream of consciousness format never overpowers the rich, emotional landscape of it all.