An 8.1 from Pitchfork is no small feat. The music Web site is both notoriously critical and notoriously capricious. Bon Iver, a Wisconian singer-songwriter who formerly worked in such bands as the Rosebuds and Ticonderoga (I haven't heard of them either), self-released For Emma, Forever Ago last year, gaining Pitchfork's praise and considerable screen-time on many popular music blogs. The album is to be re-released Feb. 19 on the Bloomington, Ind. record label Jagjaguwar, home of Bon Iver soundalikes Okkervil River.Justin Vernon's nom-de-tune, from the French bon hiver ("good winter"), seems particularly accurate when the origin of the album is considered. After splitting with his former band, DeYarmond Edison, Vernon returned to his home state of Wisconsin to practice a rather ascetic lifestyle. Living alone in a remote cabin in the woods, Vernon spent three months chopping wood and generally communing with the land. The solitude and snow apparently gave birth to the nine tracks that make up For Emma, Forever Ago, an album replete with loose Sufjan Stevens-esque guitars and the sort of muffled alt-country vocals popularized by such Americana-tinged acts as Iron & Wine.

The unfortunately titled single "Skinny Love" certainly distinguishes itself from the other 36 minutes of falsetto hums and purrs with its much more aggressive and active melody and chorus, though the instrumentation remains minimal. On the following track, however, a cool vocal effect-it must be vocoder, or else Vernon's backing vocals have a very unusual texture-is pleasantly unexpected in such an organic, woodsy, acoustic album. The song "The Wolves (Act I and II)" also features some chaotic, jumbled percussion near the end, which mixes with heavily layered and harmonized vocals to create a pastiche of very different styles to very impressive effect.

Album ender "Re: Stacks" also stands out. The words of the chorus are difficult to make out, but the melody sure is catchy. It's a testament to Vernon's timeless style, so rooted in Americana, that his music seems to evoke some uncontested giant of folk-hued songwriting. The melodies hint at Neil Young and Cat Stevens just around the corner, yet the tracks on For Emma, Forever Ago remain fresh and original.

Some reviewers have compared Vernon's falsetto to that of Tunde Adebimpe, of TV on the Radio. After hearing that comparison, it's hard to keep it out of your mind. Though Vernon's folksy, acoustic music comes from an entirely different corner of the American musical canon than TVOTR's soul-rock concoction, the vocals are eerily similar.

Bon Iver will be performing Feb. 24 with Black Mountain at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge. Though I wouldn't expect the sedate strummer to bring down the house at, say, the Paradise Rock Club, the well-lit wooden stage of the barely 200-person venue at the Middle East indieplex should be perfect for the singer-songwriter.