Volcano Choir

Volcano Choir is a bunch of doods from Wisconsin. Its a collaboration between Jon Mueller, Chris Rosenau, Jim Schoenecker, Daniel Spack, and Thomas Wincek of Collections of Colonies of Bees and this francophile guy named Justin Vernon. The collaboration predates the meteoric rise of Vernon’s Bon Iver project, with original songwriting dating back to the summer of 2005, right around the time the Bees first toured with Vernon’s previous band DeYarmond Edison.

It's has been gloomy in Baltimore for the past week and Volcano Choir fits perfectly with the mood, which will carry on beautifully for June Gloom in LA. Their biggest hit is Island, Is and it's easy to see why. Cool Knowledge is my favorite song; short and very sweet. Volcano Choir's album, Unmap, is great all the way through. Imagine Vernon with more instrumental variety. Collections of Colonies of Bees is really solid in their own right and definitely worth getting into.

Volcano Choir - Island, Is (YSI)

Volcano Choir - Cool Knowledge (YSI)

Collections of Colonies of Bees - Flocks I (YSI)

Bon Iver - Blood Bank EP

Bon Iver - Woods

This EP has been leaked a little earlier than its anticipated official release in late January. I think this is more along the strain of "For Emma, A Long Time Ago" however the last track "Woods" plays more like The Album Leaf with acoustic guitar mixed with voice manipulation. I don't know how I feel about this voicebox  movement, which has been picked up and carried into oblivion by Top 40 power pop Hip-Hop. I'm interested to see what you gents think. All and all I'm still a fan of Justin Vernon; just a little concerned about his direction if this is the way he's going.