Unmap

Volcano Choir | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 22, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Jagjaguwar
• ASIN: B002HMCEF8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,480 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Volcano Choir is an assembly of Wisconsinites Jon Mueller, Chris Rosenau, Jim Schoenecker, Daniel Spack, Justin Vernon, and Thomas Wincek. You might find these old friends also frequenting records and stages under different monikers, Collections of Colonies of Bees and Bon Iver. The collaboration predates the meteoric rise of Justin Vernon's Bon Iver project, with original songwriting dating back to the summer of 2005.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lush, Warm & Layered, September 26, 2009

By 

Christian D. Montone "Christian Montone" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Unmap [Vinyl] (Vinyl)

A collection of songs that are as lush as they are layered and equal parts haunting and warm. Just when you think that this is going to be a sparse, finger-pickin' folk set, it turns left with a few surprising pop underpinnings and florid choruses. This album feels intimate, yet opens up to a wide expanse of "grand sounds". Trust me, this LP will keep you company (much like the cloak the album cover's subject wears) on a cold winter's day.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Volcano Choir sounds just like the album art, October 14, 2009

By 

Alex (Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unmap (Audio CD)

In a great stroke of fortune, Bon Iver frontman Justin Vernon has teamed up with fellow Wisconson band Collections of Colonies of Bees, and as a consequence his music has never sounded better. While his Bon Iver hit For Emma, Forever Ago was a good album, it was a touch ethereal for my taste, and lacked a certain meatiness I require. But now, with a full band backing and a newfound experimentation with vocal effects, Vernon has filled the void in his music, and in the realm of dreamy-soft indie rock, Volcano Choir's music is a top pick of the year so far.

Unmap opens with Husks and Shells, a perfect introduction backboned by a meandering acoustic guitar riff that's like returning to your childhood home after years on the road and watching it poking out of ivory snow, familiarity and feeling memories flooding back, before being greeted at the door with a hot mug of cocoa and hug full of sweater. Like that,or something equally evocative and less gay. Husks and Shells sets the tone for the remaining thirty muted, roaming minutes.

Island, IS is the single and standout track, and exemplifies the gentle playfulness of the album. Lyrics, as in the rest of Unmap, are mostly fun nonsense. Here's the end of Island, IS:

Set your orbit, set your coffin

Said it's often that your "O" fits

On your old tits on your hard drive

The main difference in Volcano Choir from Vernon's other project is his use of studio tools. On Still, Vernon professes "I'm down on my mind" in punctuated serenades, each time using different layering techniques for his voice. His sung cries on the ambient And Gather are run through a similar process, this time meshing with guitar instrumentation that could fit on Bibio's Vignetting the Compost.

Unmap does have its lesser moments. Mbira in the Morass and Youlagy are almost downright unlistenable, the former featuring sparse, jaggedly mismatched instrumentation and a jarringly scratchy Vernon. But notwithstanding the couple misses, Unmap has some great tunes for those who are into the genre. And with Vernon's progress, I can't wait for what he'll put out next.

[...].

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DARK & SURREAL TRIP THROUGH MOTHER NATURE'S MOODS, October 22, 2010

By 

Lucy Tonic "Lucy Tonic" (NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Unmap (Audio CD)

If you are looking for a melodic, sing-along album that can be easily digested, Unmap probably isn't for you. However, rarely will you find an album with enough atmospheric ambience to leave you longing for a winter landscape. (Vernon's Wisconsin influence, perhaps?)

FULL REVIEW HERE

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