Justin Vernon + Collections of Colonies of Bees = Volcano Choir

If you are a fan of Bon Iver, Animal Collective, and some minimalist sounds, you will definitely fall in love with Volcano Choir's Unmap. Just imagine yourself treading through a cold snowy winter in woods so dark, that the only light guiding you is that of the moon. The culminating noises come from nature, and yes they're eerie, but they also soothe you to take the next step. This image reveals itself through-out the whole album, including the album cover. And the coincidental fact that these musicians hail from snowy Wisconsin, maybe isn't so much of one. The first track Husks and Shells invites you so lovingly onto a long journey, carrying you through with the fine gentle picking of the acoustic guitar. Sleepy Mouth has very reminiscent overtones of Steve Reich's Music for Eighteen Musicians, as well as several of the tracks. Unmap also has a few elements of Sung Tongs by Animal Collective, the way the voices teeter, muffled and soft and clapping hands. In the last track Youlagy, Vernon sings "our time, my time... so alone....look down, look down..." an ending to the trail? or maybe just starting another one. This is a great album for the new fall, or more fittingly a "good winter" for the new fall.