Reviewing this album is bittersweet for me. For one thing, I hate all the hullabaloo that Twilight has brought along with it. It's taken over so much of the media lately, and I've been sick of it since it started. When I saw the list of artists that were contributing to the Twilight Saga: New Moon soundtrack , my heart sank. Not because they were bad, but because they were oh so good, and the fact that they'd jumped on the Twilight bandwagon irked [...]
As we relayed to you yesterday, Bon Iver and his bandmates played their last show together as a unit for an "indefinite" amount of time. The show came on the same day Justin Vernon was the honorary chair of AIDS Walk Wisconsin and took place at Milwaukee's Riverside Theater. In case the news of the brief "hibernation" has you down, RadioMilwaukee broadcast the whole performance live. And we can now share the stream of the show with you thanks to the fine folks over there. Enjoy, or drown your sorrows, or do whatever it is you do. Regardless, [...]
The show I couldn't make. For all of life is in opposition to me. parkerehret : bon iver played a sunrise show at the hollywood forever cemetery at 6am on september 27th. i was lucky enough to be there and be a part of something magical. here's a video from when he played "blood bank".
Band names are getting pretty damn absurd these days. Not only that, but with all the collabos, side projects, Project Pats, pet projects, projects named after pets, pet rocks, rock bands, and bands of brothers, it's hard to keep it all straight. Throughout all the chaos, however, Volcano Choir is one band worth keeping a tab on. A side project of Justin Vernon (of ATG-fave Bon Iver fame) that consists of a bunch of talented dudes from the Badger state, Volcano Choir is like Bon Iver meets Sufjan Stevens meets reading a book out on a lake in the North [...]
Si respira un certo afflato spirituale, d'armonia con la natura circostante, nell'interessante disco d'esordio dei Volcano Choir, intitolato Unmap (Jagjaguwar/Goodfellas), sorta di supergruppo che riunisce diverse personalità dell'underground americano, da membri dei Collections Of Colonies Of Bees per arrivare alla "star", quel Justin Vernon meglio conosciuto come Bon Iver. Concepito nell'estate del 2005 e registrato [...]
Guitarist Chris Rosenau recently took time to answer a few questions for us about the recording process of the new album, his favorite song(s) from Unmap , and the future of Collections of Colonies of Bees.
ALBUM REVIEW: Volcano Choir - Unmap words: Jamie Milton Justin Vernon's voice can make you freeze in a matter of just a single split-second. One whimper of his touching, emotional falsetto and all else is up in the air - it's the only thing you can focus on. That it's so tactically deployed in ' Unmap ' makes a lot of sense. For this is an album that dabbles in and out of moods and ideas with the turn of a head. Vernon is [...]
It's a very special Bon Iver week here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Justin Vernon and crew played the legendary Fillmore this past Tuesday, September 22nd (where he announced the band's upcoming hiatus , apparently), and tonight, September 24th, they'll be taking the stage at the newly-renovated Fox Theater . In celebration of such beautiful music here in the Bay, we've put together a little collection of covers that Bon Iver has performed in the past, along with the original renditions. Such songs include [...]
For those who simply expected another Bon Iver album, here be shoals.
It's a little over a week until Volcano Choir 's album, Unmap, debuts, but another song from the band's already leaked album grabs attention from many. "Youlogy" in my mind didn't go over very well, it was almost too experimental and out there for me to understand. But I have different feelings about the band and upcoming album (I have yet to hear the whole thing) after hearing the track titled "Seeplymouth. " Volcano Choir, made up of Milwaukee's Collection of Colonies of Bees and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, can be [...]
Declaring themselves "Original Doo Wop Punk" Little Red has made it big in Australia and is now setting their sights on the rest of the world. Internationally debuting their single "Coca Cola," they're a fun and energetic group who truly capture the 50's 60's old fashioned Rock and Roll (think Beach Boys) complete with backing vocals that captures the innocence of that era. They're a cute band with even cuter lyrics, but you won't find anything profound here. "My one and only advice/ Is cold coca cola and Ice" are sugary lyrics that give you an equally sugary [...]
Volcano Choir - Sleeplymouth
I remember back in 4th year of school when I had to do work experience. The first week a few of us managed to get to be in the same clothes shop, working together. This was ideal, obviously, seeing as we all really wanted to be clothes sales men when we grew up. The very first morning, we were waiting outside for the shop to open, it never pays to be early! Just standing around, talking about the latest Scooter song I imagine. I was standing just off the curb, kicking it gently while discussing the brilliance of the German [...]
I remember back in 4th year of school when I had to do work experience. The first week a few of us managed to get to be in the same clothes shop, working together. This was ideal, obviously, seeing as we all really wanted to be clothes sales men when we grew up. The very first morning, we were waiting outside for the shop to open, it never pays to be early! Just standing around, talking about the latest Scooter song I imagine. I was standing just off the curb, kicking it gently while discussing the brilliance of the German [...]
"Island, IS" has such a deep contrast between the mellow vocals of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and the very staccato, swirling melody that the members of Collections of Colonies of Bees put behind the vox. The music reminds me of what traffic would sound like in the cartoon The Jetsons. But in a very peculiar way, both the vox and the melody of the song compliment each other... like dipping a french fry into a Wendy's frosty. It simply just works. Vernon's harmonies are so strange yet so fluid that you can actually [...]
The first signs of a regular feature on 'Foreign Thoughts'? Hopefully. Every Sunday I shall update you on my most-listened to track of the week. This week in particular, that accolade goes to: Bon Iver - For Emma Off his debut album, 'For Emma' is a real grower. Upon first hearing the album, this track didn't stand out. Following further listens, I began to like the song. At the start of this week, I finally 'got' the song. Primarily, this was because I sat down and read the brilliant lyrics, in which [...]
After the wildly successful and brilliant Bon Iver debut For Emma, Forever Ago , the doors were open for the multi-talented and unworldly-voiced Justin Vernon to explore whatever musical path he saw fit. Vernon chose to make a record with his favorite band and fellow Wisconsinites—the experimentally inclined Collections of Colonies of Bees . Together, they are the Volcano Choir . The group's debut, Unmap , is due out September 22nd on Jagjaguwar. And "Island, IS" is the first song to emerge from [...]
Everyone and anyone is blogging about Volcano Choir at the moment and I'm about to join them. Justin Vernon's (of Bon Iver, as if you didn't know) side-project means people are expecting big things from their forthcoming album, 'Unmap'. The lead single from it, 'Island, IS' has fulfilled these expectations as blogs worldwide crack out their superlatives and laud praise on it to no end. Personally, I'm slightly underwhelmed given the man's (relatively) solo material but I can definitely see it growing on me as 'For Emma, Forever Ago' did. It's good, and Vernon's vocals remain [...]
Being a huge fan of Bon Iver and Justin Vernon in general, I had to give his side project Volcano Choir a listen (even though, for the most part, I'm completely against these kind of things). After listening to "Island, IS"'s four minutes, I was left with a familiar feeling. The feeling I got when I first heard Fleet Foxes' "Sun Giant" or even "Skinny Love." Like I said, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon is leading Volcano Choir to music heaven, teaming up with Collections of Colonies of Bees. "Island, IS," the first single released from the Unmap [...]
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