For this new project with what he’s called his “favorite band” — fellow Wisconsites and Outsiders faves Collections Of Colonies Of Bees — Justin Vernon does much to demystify and escape the loner-folkie backwoods aesthetic/mythology that’s colored his Bon Iver material to date. (Occasional dip into auto-tune aside.) The project’s called Volcano Choir, and certainly its first single “Island, IS” still pulses with a warm intimacy — this is just what happens when Vernon vocalizes — but here Justin’s unmistakable falsetto is released from its plaintively strummed trappings, paired instead with a hypnotic little world of COCOB’s loops, synths, percussion, aural ephemera. It’s lovely, it should be downloaded:
Volcano Choir’s Unmap LP has its roots in collaborations from dating back to 2005 — when Vernon’s DeYarmond Edison first toured with Collections Of Colonies Of Bees’ on Jon Mueller, Chris Rosenau, Jim Schoenecker, Daniel Spack, and Thomas Wincek — but this will be their first official release. It’s out 9/22 via Jagjaguwar. There are no shows planned, but there should be. Here’s a tracklist for you to dream about:
01 “Husks And Shells”
02 “Seeplymouth”
03 “Island, IS”
04 “Dote”
05 “And Gather”
06 “Mbira In The Morass”
07 “Cool Knowledge”
08 “Still”
09 “Youlogy”
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Hell YES! This is fucking great! ‘been waiting for something from this to appear. Does not disappoint.
Interesting song, very jovial beat
Holy dumb fuck this is good.
liked his other stuff…this song’s boring
i love this like the watermelon i ate last night, delicious!
Why does he sound like Chris Martin in this song?
i agree!
Yeah that ruins it for me
Loop-tastic. I’m digging this.
They must smoke good shit in Wisconsin…
We do. And I know people that have with Justin. I’m from his hometown, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The community here loves him. Some of the shows he’s played here have been incredible, unifying experiences for the Eau Claire community and music scene. Justin Vernon is really passionate about this town, and many people in the scene have had some really great interactions with him.
Remember that highschool band he played with for that show in new york? The leading men there were a few of my closest friends. The amount of time he put in with them to play this show is incredible enough, but he made sure that it was the highschool musicians, not himself, that was center stage. He’s a humble and brilliant guy as far as I’ve seen and heard. He’s doing a lot for local music too.
For the record, a different “Brett” thinks that he sounds like Chris Martin on this jam. Not me.
But he does sound like Chris Martin.
Blood Bank is one of the only releases I’ve given 10/10 to this year so I’m very excited about this.
Not sure about this one. I think they all need to be locked in a cellar for years like that Fritzel women. Then they would come up with interesting stuff. 5/10
Wow, this is really exciting. They’ve been trying to describe it as fairly experimental and out-there, but this is pretty straight-up enjoyable. The loops and guitar lines are great. Can’t wait to hear a full record of this.