I've posted so much electronic shit recently you could be forgiven for thinking I'm slowly falling into my own Tron-like alternate reality, but I swear to you, there is still an organic soul hidden under all these circuit boards. In fact, a little bit of flesh surfaced this week when I started to get into Volcano Choir, the joint project of Bon Iver's Justin Vernon and folk heroes Collections of Colonies of Bees. Their debut album, Unmap , was conceived a few years ago but only dropped on Jagjaguwar last September. The release met with largely positive reviews and [...]
There's nothing quite like the year-end list in music. December rolls around and everyone takes a couple minutes/hours/days/weeks thinking about the music we've consumed over the past year, finally pushing back from the table and digesting for a short moment. Different sites have different lists, of course, but that's part of the fun. It's interesting to see what music made an impact on what people in the preceding 12 months. Having three separate writers, we are faced with an interesting challenge – compiling a list of the year's best releases while simultaneously accounting for individual tastes. So [...]
(Separate Columbus list further down. Though, if the lists were combined, some of the local releases would unseat a few here...) 1. Larry Jon Wilson - Larry Jon Wilson I won't lie. Talking to Larry Jon and producer Jerry DeCicca (Black Swans) about this album, learning about its origins, and visiting Wilson's back catalog gave me a heightened appreciation for this masterpiece. So context helps, but even if you know nothing about the back story, this is a stark, beautiful album from start to finish [...]
Ναι, ναι, ξέρουμε. Κι εμείς ξεγελιόμαστε από τη λιακάδα έξω και το σοβαρό κρύο που λάμπει δια της απουσίας του, τουλάχιστον εδώ στο Λεκανοπέδιο, αλλά έχουμε 21 Δεκεμβρίου. Σε δέκα μερούλες το 2009 και η πρώτη δεκαετία του 21ου αιώνα λένε αντίο. Από την πλευρά μας εμείς εδώ στο some beans, αντί να ταλαιπωρούμε τα νεύρα μας βλέποντας στα δελτία ειδήσεων και ζηλεύοντας το χιονιά της Ευρώπης και το πόσο όμορφα πηγαίνει με τα χριστουγεννιάτι κα στολίδια αντί για τον ντάλα ήλιο, το ρίξαμε στο γράψιμο. Η χρονιά τελειώνει, και η καλύτερη συνοδεία για τα μελομακάρονα είναι οι λίστες. Μπορεί να [...]
Continued from Part Two 10. Volcano Choir - Unmap (September 22, 2009) (Experimental/Folk/Ambient) Justin Vernon's Volcano Choir , contrary to popular belief, actually outdates his vastly more famous Bon Iver project. It dates back to the summer of 2005, when Justin Vernon's DeYarmond Edison toured with Volcano Choir's other members under the moniker of Collections of Colonies of Bees . Unmap sees a [...]
![[Listmas 2009] The Top 50 Albums of the Year #40-31](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/2198574_lg.jpg)
Day number two of my Top 50 Albums of 2009 countdown is here, and along with that comes another set of excellent releases you may or may not have heard of prior to now. Today's 10 albums are pretty well all over the chart from a genre standpoint, and I didn't always hear a lot about them other places, so hopefully this will get them more attention. That being said, let's continue on with Listmas, and my favorite albums of the year, #40-31! 40. Fanfarlo - Reservoir (Download: Luna ) The gentlemen [...]
Hometapes heads into the new year with the Eight Days of Hometapes and a 2009 tape sampler! Read All The Way To The Bottom For Info on 2009 Tape Sampler! "It's been a wild year. December always provides that high vantage point for looking back over the months before, as well as the not-so-distant views of the new year to come. We're definitely standing on top of [...]
Monday, December 14, 2009 Well hot damn, again again again, that always looming end of year has crashed down upon me, and as always I'm ill-prepared and forgetful. Let me be honest for a second, the end of the year seems to take me by surprise every year, and every year I look back on the albums I've listened to, and most often can't remember which ones stood out whatsoever. Instead I see a blur of music, an imaginary stack of albums that could be from 2009 or could be from 1909. [...]
![Justin Vernon's Volcano Choir – Unmap [Album Review]](http://cache.elbo.ws/posts/2161665_lg.jpg)
Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has been tinkering around over the last couple years with his side project, Volcano Choir , and finally released the album a couple months ago. The album, entitled Unmap , is the work of Vernon and fellow Wisconsin band Collections of Colonies of Bees and was released on Jagjaguwar. It's definitely a tangential departure from Vernon's other work. The first released track is "Island, IS", a beautiful track that I absolutely adore, and after listening to it I was really excited to get into the rest of the album. [...]
Another (jobless) week done. Jeez. I'm starting to get just a little bored at this point. This is why I drink, people! Although I did spend a small portion of Friday night and Saturday night at a biker clubhouse in Columbus, GA. My ass was slapped. I danced to Elvis' "Suspicious Minds." My smart mouth was brought back up to the level it should be. I reverted back to drinking Jack and Coke (oh how I missed you!) after a nine month absence. All in all a good weekend. This week's AIAWW: WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER It's [...]
</center I was pretty excited about Volcano Choir 's Unmap which features Bon Iver and Milwaukee's post-rock band Collections of Colonies of Bees . The first single, Island, Is I thought was a decent track mixing in post rock elements with Bon Iver's single. It led me to believe there was a ton of potential for this album. How I was wrong… I had pretty bad first impressions and after listening to it some more I've had to the conclusion that this album isn't as good as Pitchfork would lead you to [...]
Até ao lançamento do fabuloso For Emma, For Ever Ago o nome Bon Iver pouco ou nada dizia. Dois anos volvidos desse disco dorido e inspirado em plena floresta e em nome de uma grande amor, Justin Vernon junta-se a um grupo de amigos que inclui membros dos Collections of Colonies of Bees e antigos colaboradores seus. O resultado é Volcano Choir, uma aventura um pouco diferente ao trabalho a solo de Bon Iver. A voz e a letras continuam irrepreensíveis como sempre, sonoramente existe uma palete de sons e referências que passam por um certo som ambiental [...]
LP and POSTER giveaway details at the end of the review Volcano Choir Unmap Jagjaguwar out September 22nd 80 /100 [ Rating [...]
My interview with Chris Rosenau of Volcano Choir is up on PasteMagazine.com today! Getting To Know... Volcano Choir Justin Vernon of Bon Iver has been pretty public about his love for experimental post-rock outfit Collections of Colonies of Bees. The band's music is largely instrumental, frequently epic and, like so much music that can't lean on vocals as an audience-catcher, depends on building tension based on pacing, volume and orchestration. It could be said that some of their arrangements are reminiscent of Bon [...]
I recently returned from a three week holiday in Europe (I've always wanted to say that - three years ago I had never been on a plane), and I found Volcano Choir's [ MySpace ] debut album stuffed between hundreds of Thrillist newsletters , Facebook notifications and "Fwd: fwd: fwd - this is sooo cute!" messages from my mother. It's been a week or so and I've been dragging my feet hard on this review because, well, I'll come right out and say it - I think that our fearless leader here at Radio Exile has intentionally assigned this [...]
Wisconsin's Volcano Choir is the side project of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and experimental rock group Collections of Colonies of Bees . The roots of this collaboration date back to 2005, before the meteoric success Iver's 'For Emma, Forever Ago', and fans of that record's naked sound may find themselves at odds with the experimental studio production and non traditional song structures. However at the root of 'Unmap' lies the same heart and soul that won over listeners - but taken in a different direction. Full of delicate textures, rhythm and dynamic ideas this [...]
Wisconsin's Volcano Choir is the side project of Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and experimental rock group Collections of Colonies of Bees . The roots of this collaboration date back to 2005, before the meteoric success Iver's 'For Emma, Forever Ago', and fans of that record's naked sound may find themselves at odds with the experimental studio production and non traditional song structures. However at the root of 'Unmap' lies the same heart and soul that won over listeners - but taken in a different direction. Full of delicate textures, rhythm and dynamic ideas this [...]
Late last month, Volcano Choir released their debut album Unmap on Jagjaguwar . Volcano Choir is Justin Vernon of Bon Iver and Milwaukee band Collections of Colonies of Bees. The original recordings of Unmap actually date back to before Vernon even began to mix and master For Emma, Forever Ago , his Bon Iver debut. While it may not be creating the kind of buzz that Vernon got in 2007 with the release of For Emma , it is still garnering a lot of attention and respect, having been featured recently [...]
Mew I'm a little bit behind the curve on this new Mew record because for a while I mistakenly thought it was only an EP. But now that I have the full-length album, I am totally obsessed with it. I was a big fan of their last two records, but I feel like with No More Stories... they have taken their game up to a whole new level. They pull off a move in more poppy and upbeat direction almost flawlessly, balancing out the ridiculously catchy [...]
I've been slow to catch on to the atmospheric folky brilliance of "Island, IS," the debut track from Volcano Choir's first, recently released CD, Unmap . I blame it on the change of seasons. The band — comprised of members of little-known Wisconsin band Collections of Colonies of Bees and vocalist Justin Vernon of the much-better-known Bon Iver — recorded the album last fall in the land of the Cheeseheads . And, complete with soft jingle bells and lyrics about a "fuck in the snow," "Island, IS" is tailor-made for chillier weather. Get cozy [...]
Wolfmother – White Feather (Acid Washed remix)
NEW MAJOR LAZER
Hot Chip: One Life Stand
New Releases V2.9
