Volcano Choir - Unmap

Well this was all a bit of news to me til a friend of the lad sent a link over. The one track on the Myspace, Island IS, was an intriguing and teasing one that promised good things to come. Well the CD was released here today and its in my grubby hands and been through the car player a few times already.

As you might expect the influence of Monsieur Bon Iver is strong, the falsetto voice to the fore, with even more impossible to decipher lyrics than on For Emma. The sound too is very familiar - laid back meandering, fleeting glimpses of a hook and a tune from chaps from Collection of Colonies of Bees, but richer and more obviously 'peopled' than Bon Iver

After only few listens there are as yet few tunes to hum along with, although more may emerge slowly, and there is a sense of greater experimentation, almost an art-rock album with only a slight taste of the rock part

The first five tracks are all fine affairs, rather beautiful concoctions of sound an voice, woven together in an almost hypnotic fashion the later tracks have yet to impress to the same extent but maybe they need more time and space.

Some wags are hailing this as one of those genre defining/changing albums, well I have my doubts about that, but none the less it is good piece of work that suggests more rewards the longer it is given. To be honest it might serve as a goof introduction of the possible delights of Collection of Colonies of Bees (what a fine elliptical name they have)

Volcano Choir Myspace

Volcano Choir Jagjaguar

Volcano Choir NPR

Collection of Colonies of Bees Website

Collection of Colonies of Bees Myspace