Volcano Choir
Repave
With
Justin Vernon saying that he’s now finished with his Bon Iver moniker, it is – for now at least – necessary to seek out
his work with Volcano Choir to secure
a new fix of Vernon. Which initially was
a point of some concern for me, because Volcano
Choir’s debut, Unmap, was uneven,
disjointed and distinctly so-so. Fortunately,
the sophomore effort by Vernon and co avoids all of the pitfalls of its
predecessor, and heads in a distinctly more Bon Iver-like direction.
Having said that, there’s plenty of new stuff in the mix too. The soft acoustic guitar lullaby of opener
‘Tiderays’ is firmly in For Emma, Forever
Ago territory, but ‘Comrade’ comes
across like a hippy Daft Punk, and
album highlight ‘Byegone’ is a rolling anthem that evokes Broken Social Scene. One of
the most talented individuals in music right now keeps up the good work.
Sample track: ‘Byegone’
Sample track: ‘Byegone’