Justin Vernon isn’t one to rest on his throne, it would seem. After defying all expectations to become one of the most talked about releases of last year (despite, yes, it being recorded in a log cabin) under the Bon Iver moniker, he went on to destroy festival stages around the world with his apocalyptic three drummer line-up.
Here he returns, and those who were hoping for another bedazzling strum-a-long will be severely disappointed, for this is not For Emma, Forever Ago pt 2. Volcano Choir is a band made of Justin Vernon and his “favourite band in the world”, Chicago’s very own Collections Of Colonies Of Bees (who feature members of math-rock stalwarts Pele), and they’re a band like no other in the world right now. The same R&B influences that made Dirty Projectors’ Stillness Is The Move such a head turning masterpiece raise their beautiful faces again here, Vernon’s timeless croon gliding effortlessly over the ice rink of guitar loops laid before it. An ‘oooh’ there and an ‘aaah’ here don’t go amiss either, and his literary prowess is on display as well ‘“ something about fucking in the snow and tits on your hard drive ‘“ but the words aren’t important, the story is told with every layer of recorded wind layered ever repetition of THAT finger tapping riff, every falsetto, every rattle of the tambourine, every ooh and every fucking aah. Volcano Choir are very much a more sexy proposition ‘“ a band for getting your skinny lover into bed once you’ve wooed them with the gentle swoon-fest of For Emma’¦ Volcano Choir’s ‘Unmap’ LP is released on the 22nd October, on Jagjaguwar Records. This track, Island, IS, can be downloaded for free from their website here: http://www.jagjaguwar.com/onesheet.php?cat=JAG156
Label: R.E.D Distribution
Release Date: 28/09/09
Absolute stonker. Track of the year for sure.