From here on out I'm going to take different songs that are either very well done from a production standpoint or stand out to me for other reasons, such as their lyrics or some other reason that I like them.
The first song I'm going to be talking about is Holocene by Bon Iver. It struck me when I first heard it while watching the film We Bought a Zoo. That soundtrack itself is absolutely magical to the point that I took songs and played them thematically for our school production of Anne of Green Gables. It was absolutely amazing. But in the middle of this soundtrack was a song that was definitely not by the mastermind of Jónsi. It stuck out like a diamond in the middle of a patch of rubies. Not only did it come at a crucial time in the plot, but it has an extremely ethereal yet grounded sound. It's as if Jon Vernon wants you to feel disoriented and then let him take control of the song. It's not disorienting in a bad way, but rather it's as though Vernon wants you to forget what you're accustomed to when it comes to what certain instruments should do.
The opening of the song has two acoustic guitars weaving their ways in and out of each other with a similar slow 16th note run back and forth. The heavy reverb gives it that soft padding that is the base for the entire song (not bass).
There are added instruments that come in, such as brass, that swell up from the quiet rather than coming in and making a statement. The layout of the song itself is simple enough. It goes Intro, Verse 1 Chorus 1, Verse 2 Chorus 2, Verse 3 Chorus 3. Simple enough, right? But it picks up as the song goes along, continuing its "soothing" vibe. You almost have to focus on the lyrics to understand them as the whole production blends together into one mood.
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